The Dreamers: The Conquest of Dinosaur Planet
by Anguirus111
Summary: In a shattered Starfox universe, Andross and the Starfox team prepare to invade Dinosaur Planet. But there's more going on than meets the eye.
1. The First Strike on Dinosaur Planet

Hello, my name is Anguirus111. You probably don't know who I am. Simply put, I used to write StarFox stories a very, very long time ago, two years ago in fact. That was back before Dinosaur Planet and back in the days of the N64 and there were only two to three pages of StarFox stories. I stopped writing StarFox stories almost half a year ago. All I'm doing is writing this one final story. In order to understand this story, it's in your best interest to read my earlier stories, read my StarFox timeline in my bio, and especially read The Dreamers. This genre is now yours. Take care of it. See you around. The beginning of this story is just tying up a few loose ends left by The Dreamers story.

Lylat System: Aquas, 2½ years after Pepper claimed Emperorship on the Lylat System: A large UVCAF fleet faced a smaller VRF fleet that was surrounding the watery world.  On board the UVCAF Saruzin Cruiser, _The Mantia_, Andross watched with mild interest at Pepper's last attempt to hold onto a final foothold in The Lylat System.  Andross leaned forward in the command chair located in the center of the bridge as he watched the VRF fleet on a viewscreen.

"Pepper, why don't you make this easy on yourself and surrender?  It's quicker, simpler, and more efficient.  You're bid to become the next Emperor has failed, why go on?" asked Andross with an evil smile on his face.

VRF Lead Cruiser, _The Red Wolf_: Pepper sat in his heavily damaged bridge as he rubbed his weary eyes while listening to Andross's attempts to get him to surrender.  His bid to become the next Emperor of Lylat had gone without a hitch, he'd secured Venom and was poised to crush Andross at Sector X.  Then Andross had somehow escaped and when he returned it had been with resources that Pepper hadn't even thought he'd had.  Andross had been preparing for years that someone would try and become Emperor after him, and had been stockpiling troops and weapons for that inevitable day.  Pepper had been beaten back at every turn and had spent the past two years running from Andross and trying vainly to hold onto some position in the Lylat System, but to no avail.

"_It's all that infernal Starfox team's fault, they'd rallied support and brought back moral in leaps and bounds with their unstoppable attacks on my various supply depots.  They above all else turned the tide of this war,_" thought Pepper angrily.  Even being one member short after Falco Lombardi was executed, the remaining Starfox team, Fox McCloud, Leon Powalski, and Andrew Oikonny, were a force to be reckoned with.  Even now their Arwings sat at the front of the UVCAF fleet ready to tear in to the VRF fighters like vicious dogs of war waiting to be unleashed.

"Prepare to attack," said Pepper sighing heavily.

"But sir, we can't possibly win!" said a technician.  Pepper looked up at the technician before pulling out a gun and shakily aiming it at him before dropping it.

"We don't have a choice, Andross cannot be allowed to rule!  He will only cause our system to be destroyed.  If this is our final fight, then I intend to make it a good one!  Launch all ships!" he shouted at the crew.  The crew looked at each other in desperation, but they had no choice but to obey their commanding officer and set to work fulfilling their duties.  Dozens of fighters began launching from the assorted motley of battlecruisers as the moved to engage the UVCAF.

_The Mantia_: "You've made your final mistake old friend, move to engage!" shouted Andross.  The fighters from both sides zoomed straight at each other and the opposing sides joined in a titanic battle for dominance.

Dinosaur Planet: At the top of Krazoa Palace, a slow procession of dinosaurs led a bound and gagged captive with a sack over his head, to a spacepod that was resting next a large Krazoa Statue.  The weather was positively miserable as lightning streaked overhead and gallons of rain poured from the clouds above.  The procession stopped and the captive was forced to his knees by stunrods held by a pair of lightfoots.  Then the bag was removed revealing General Scales who blinked a few times as he peered angrily at the dinosaurs surrounding him.  In front of Scales stood the King Earthwalker, Queen Cloudrunner, and Garunda Te.  Garunda read from a scroll in front of him.

"General Scales, it is by the decision of this tribunal that you have been found guilty of war crimes against the people of Dinosaur Planet.  As you well know, we don't execute prisoners but instead banish them to the outer reaches of space for all eternity   If you have any last words, now would be the time to say them," said Garunda Te.  The gag was removed and General Scales growled in anger.

"You think by banishing me to space I'll never return?  You're wrong, dead wrong.  This isn't a punishment at all, in fact I'm going willingly because I know that out there I'll find the support I couldn't find here to conquer Dinosaur Planet.  All of your days are numbered because once I return you'll all be the first to go.  I will come back, there's no doubt about it.  You're letting me go is the last mistake you'll ever make," said Scales angrily as a massive lightning bolt flew overhead followed by a ground trembling thundeclap.  The dinosaurs all shook their heads in sorrow.

"This was a mistake, even now he couldn't repent for his actions.  Load him into the pod and let's get this over with," said The King Earthwalker.  Scales was forced into the pod and a course was put in.  The forward hatch closed and the pod reared back and blasted off into the sky, zooming into the abyss of space.

"Goodbye General, may you find the peace in death that you failed to achieve in life," said Garunda Te as the processing headed inside.  In space the pod zoomed upward before blasting off at lightspeed.

Aquas: _The Red Wolf_, trailing fire, smashed into the ocean's surface with a loud crash and began sinking quickly.

"Abandon ship!" shouted Pepper.  A dozen escape hatches on the ship and Pepper slowly crawled out to the outside as he faced the clear sunny day.  Above, explosions were seen as the two fleets kept battling each other.  As the ship continued to sink, many lost the will to hang on and died, floating away never to be seen again except for Pepper who stubbornly continued to cling to the ship as it sank for hours until finally a shuttle finally appeared from above and hovered above the water near the ship.

"Finally, salvation," said Pepper with a smile.  This smile immediately turned to horror as Andross emerged from the shuttle and stepped onto a small piece of metal above the water's surface as Pepper clung to an incline with half his body in the water.

"Hello old friend, it's good to see you face to face after so many years," said Andross with a feral grin.  Pepper glared at him with what little strength he had left.

"You know, I'd like to thank you for what you did.  You recruited practically everyone who opposed me and put them together in one place for me to dispose of.  I am truly grateful," said Andross with mock appreciation.  Pepper slowly drooped his hand down until he clasped onto a blaster he wore on his belt.  He tiredly brought it up and aimed it at Andross who continued smiling.

"Why thank you old friend, a gift for old time's sake," said Andross.  He reached down and plucked the gun from Pepper's numb and bloodied fingers as he desperately tried to summon up enough strength to pull the trigger.  Andross checked the charge on the gun and aimed it at Pepper for a few moments before placing it on his own belt.

"I guess shooting you wouldn't properly show my gratitude.  I'll let you live, but you'll live here, for as long as the ship and you stay afloat.  Eventually you'll drown, but at least it's a nice day.  Farwell little rodent because the Lylat System is once again under my control!" said Andross laughing heavily at Pepper who merely watched in desperation as Andross boarded his shuttle and blasted off leaving him alone.

"This can't be the end.  Andross you haven't won yet, mark my words I will return!" said Pepper before he passed out and the wreckage sank below the surface of Aquas.

6 months later: A mysterious object zoomed into the Lylat System.  It flew past Corneria and Katina and was passing by Solar when Solar's gravity managed to grab hold of it enough to fling it on a collision course with Venom.

Emperor's Mansion, Venomia City, Venom: Andross was sitting on his recliner sipping some lemonade as he watched the beautiful sunny day on his terra-formed planet, when he was interrupted by an aide.  Andross scowled, but didn't bother to face him.

"I gave orders not to be interrupted under **any** circumstances!" he shouted.  The aide cowered briefly before standing straight again.

"Yes sir, but at 0900 hours we detected a foreign object entering into the Lylat System.  It proceeded to fly by Corneria and Katina before slinging around Solar.  The movement caused it to slow down and at that moment we detected what can only be described as a message being broadcast from the ship as a possible reaction to it slowing down," said the aide.  Andross immediately sat up, his interest piqued.

"A message?" he asked.  The aide nodded.

"Of extraterrestrial origin and one that we can't readily translate.  But that's not the bizarre part," said the aide.  Andross sat up and faced him.

"What?" demanded Andross.  The aide fidgeted for a few seconds before facing the Emperor.

"It's one of ours," he said finally.

"Explain,"

"Based on the sensor readings, the size, configuration, and composition of the pod indicate that it came from a D-7-12 cruiser," said the aide.  Andross eyes went wide open.

"_After all these years could it be possible…_" he thought.

"Sir, should we destroy them as per Article 7-A?" asked the aide.

"No, no!" said Andross quickly holding up his hands. "This clearly is more complicated than it would ordinarily seem.  Track the pod's course and inform me as to where it's going to crash on Venom.  Now!"

The aide rushed off back into the mansion as Andross looked to the skies above.  He then looked to his open gloved hand before closing into a fist.

"_At long last the final threat to my power is finally within my grasp!_" he thought with glee before laughing aloud.

Space: The heavily burned and scarred pod soared past Macbeth and it's large spaceyards pumping out large spacecruisers and all types of armaments.  Ahead of the pod lay the massive planet Venom.

Venom: The aide ran back to Andross who was sitting at his massive desk who was pouring over various supply manifests while surrounded by several well armed guards.  He was also designating personnel to be executed for incompetence and not being able to keep up with demand.  Andross waved his hand for the aide to give his report as he kept working.

"Sir, we've determined the impact spot of the pod," said the aide as Andross kept working.  "It's going to crash here."

Andross dropped his pencil onto the table and it rolled off and clattered to the floor.

"Here?" he asked pointing to his desk.

"Actually, over there," said the aide pointing out the massive bay window to an artificial pond built leading to the front doors.

"Is it going to bounce off the ground and smash into my mansion?" asked Andross.

"Sir, that isn't important!  This pod is clearly a trap of some kind designed to take you out.  We've located this threat early enough to evacuate you, sir you must leave!" shouted the aide.  Andross breathed in and out very deeply and began trembling.  He closed his eyes for a moment and then they shot open with rage.

"Don't you ever, **ever** tell me what is and is not important!  Do you forget who I am!  **I am the Emperor of the Lylat System and so help me if you ever tell me what the right thing to do is I will have you executed!  **I understand your concern but it is none of your concern at all.  This is a military matter now and does not concern you anymore.  I'm giving you some time off so take a very long vacation.  Is that understood?" asked Andross.  The aide began trembling.

"Y-yes sir," the aide still shaking.

"Good no get out of here.  This is a military matter that does not concern you," said Andross.  The aide quickly ran from the room as fast as his legs could take him.  Andross watched him go, sighed, and pressed a button on a nearby phone.

"Get me Hammer," he said simply.

Nighttime: A dozen APC's and various other troop transports were either on the ground or hovering above the ground with their lights on.  Also, huge floodlights had been erected around the courtyard in front of Andross's palace that illuminated the whole area.  On the ground were over a hundred troops doing various maneuvers and routines while the prepared for the pod to arrive while on the roof and balconies of Andross's mansion stood several snipers.  Andross and Warlord Hammer were on the terrace consulting the security arrangements.

"Well that's that," said Andross when they were done.  Hammer looked like he was going to say something but didn't.

"Go ahead, you may talk," said Andross waving his hand.

"Sir, I don't wish to go over old ground, but are you positive you're safe?" asked Hammer.  Andross sighed.

"Yes I am.  I had less security than this during the brief war with Pepper.  Now don't bring it up again.  I already blew up at my aide and I don't wish to do it again," said Andross.  Hammer shrugged.

"It's your call," said Hammer unconvinced.

"_If he had been anyone else I would've killed him,_" said Andross, but even he was no fool.  Hammer had gathered most of the remaining military forces loyal to Andross and had performed countless attacks that won him the war.

"_If Hammer hadn't helped me I would've lost, that's why I'm indebted to him.  And even so, a little insolence from an old friend just shows that he cares for his Emperor,_" thought Andross and concluded that line of thought.

"Where's the Starfox team?" asked Hammer looking up at the nighttime sky.

"They're currently on patrol around Corneria while we try and clean up parts of that planet.  I don't want to have to deal with any more resistance groups putting their bases on that planet and with more civilians there, they'll be less likely to.  Besides, it would give me an excuse to erect a military base there along with a Copperhead Missile Site.  That part of the Lylat System is too under defended in my opinion.  Sure we've got a large military base on that planet but still…," said Andross.  Hammer nodded in agreement.

"Yes I've also been disturbed by the lack of military presence in that portion of the system," said Hammer before an air raid siren went off. "Here it comes!"

Space: The pod blazed past the silent Umbra orbital defense platforms and collided with the atmosphere leaving a fiery streak behind it.  It then smashed it's way through the clouds and emerged above Venomia City with it's lights twinkling and dozens of air carts moving past them and into the luscious green hilltops surrounding the city and towards a large mansion with lights surrounding it.

Mansion: The pod smashed into the pond flinging debris everywhere.

"Get down!" shouted Hammer as he tackled the Emperor along with several security guards as debris flew right over their heads.  The pod then bounced off the ground and collided with the steps leading to Andross's mansion before coming to a smoking halt.

"Fire suppression crews go!" shouted Hammer.  Several crews ran to the still smoking pod and doused it with water while Hammer and the agents helped Andross to his feet.

"Thank you gentlemen.  Come Hammer," said Andross.  They both walked to the pod and stood next to it as the smoke slowly died down.

"Careful sir it might still be dangerous," said a guard.  As Andross prepared to approach the pod, a hissing sound was heard and the front part of the pod flew forward clattering against the door and coming to a rest.  As the group peered inside a massive roar was heard and a large withered creature slowly staggered out of the pod and faced them.  With a surprise burst of speed it grabbed Andross by his collar and hoisted him into the air until they were face to face.  Dozens of guns zipped up to aim at the creature when Andross jerked out his hand.

"Stop!" he ordered.  The soldiers held their guns but still remained nervous.

"Annnndrrrroooosssss?" it asked with a weak tone.  Andross nodded surprised and the creature seemed to breath a sigh of relief before collapsing to its knees.  Andross quickly freed himself and stood by the creature as it stood on the ground drinking in the air around it.

"Why have you come here?  How do you know who I am?" asked Andross.  The creature fell over on its side.

"I need you help," it said as if each word was painful to say.  The creature had clearly not eaten in some time.

"To do what?  Who are you?" demanded Andross hoisting the creature partially up.

"I am General Scales and I need your help to conquer Dinosaur Planet!" it said with some dignity before passing out.  Andross looked to Hammer who just shrugged.  Andross then turned to his guards.

"Take him inside, it seems fate has dealt us quite a strange hand," said Andross as he walked inside the mansion followed by the guards carrying General Scales.

Dinosaur Planet, 9 years later: Krystal flew on the back of Kyte as they bravely battled the storm that was all around them as they tried to locate the source of a distress signal she had picked up from space that originated from somewhere near here.

"According to the message I picked up, it said that General Scales had returned to Dinosaur Planet," said Krystal as she held on tightly to Kyte.  The Cloudrunner laughed.

"That's not possible, we condemned him to space years ago, there's no way he could've returned, you heard wrong!" it shouted over the storm.

"Maybe.  How far to Krazoa Palace?" Krystal asked.

"It's not far," said Kyte when a strange sound was heard above the roar of the storm.  "What's that?" asked Krystal frightened.

"I don't know I've never heard it before," said Kyte nervous as well.  Suddenly they were both buffeted by a blast of wind as an object zoomed right above their heads and disappeared into the clouds.  Suddenly a second and a third object zoomed by as well causing massive wakes so much that Krystal nearly fell off Kyte.  She stubbornly clung on for dear life as the sound immediately died.

"What was that?  I don't know of any Cloudrunners that could do that!" exclaimed Kyte.  Krystal immediately took out here staff and extended it.

"Be careful, we might need to get out of here in a hurry," said Krystal.

"I don't think I'd have much of a chance against those things…oh no!" shouted Kyte as the loud noise was heard.  But this time it came from all around them and had no actual source.

"We're going to die!" shouted Kyte.  Then from below them three metal objects took up flanking positions around them, one on each side and the third behind.  Krystal observed their weaponry and cockpits with sudden realization.

"They're demons!" shouted Kyte.

"No they're starfighters.  But where did they come from they're not from around here," she said confused.  Then she saw a symbol on them that caused her to panic.

"_That's on UVCAF symbol.  What're they doing here?  I wouldn't have thought they'd have advanced out this far!_" she thought with fear.

"Attention unidentified creatures you are in restricted airspace!  By order of the UVCAF forces you are to land immediately and be taken into custody.  Failure to comply will result in immediate termination is that understood!" boomed a loud voice at them.

"We will never kneel to you!" shouted Krystal.

Starfox team: Leon, Andrew, and Fox all watched the dinosaur and female with bemusement on their faces.

"Wonder what she's yelling about," said Leon.

"Who cares?" asked Andrew.  Fox sighed.

"Why do the cute ones always have to be so evil?" asked Fox laughing.

"It's a cruel twist of fate my friend.  Remember, no affection on duty, or anywhere else for that matter," said Leon.  Fox laughed.

"I hear ya.  Broadcast the message again," said Fox sighing.

"Here goes.  Attention unidentified creatures, by order of the UVCAF forces land now!  This is your final warning!" said Leon.

Krystal heard the warning and instead of bothering to answer she aimed her staff with her right drenched trembling hand and fired at the fighter on her right.  The energy blast hit the ship but merely bounced off of the ship's shield.

"Tell me she didn't just fire at me.  Tell me that did not just happen!" said Fox with mock anger.  A second blast flew out towards the left Arwing.

"Sorry buddy, but she just shot at me too," said Andrew.  The cloudrunner and three Arwings continued blazing forward through the stormy sky as lightning bolts flew all around them.  Another blast flew off at Leon's Arwing in the back.

"Now it's personal!  Leon show this bitch how we do things back home!" said Fox with glee.

"She's all mine!" shouted Leon as he moved his right hand toward the trigger.

"Kyte, evasive maneuvers!" shouted Krystal.  Kyte began making twists and turns and dives as laser blasts erupted all around it from the rear ship and lit up the sky around them.  Krystal put up a shield around them with her staff, but the laser blasts were beginning to overwhelm it.

"Get us below the cloud cover!" she shouted.  Kyte immediately soared down and into the clouds.

"I'll say one thing, she is resilient," said Fox watching the Cloudrunner vanish beneath the clouds.

"Yeah, but altogether not too bright.  I've still got a lock on her," said Leon as the three Arwings continued flying above the clouds.

"Is she at least taking evasive maneuvers?" asked Fox bemused.

"No, she's still flying in a direct path to wherever she's going," said Leon.  Fox snorted.

"Amateur," he said.

"Should I fire a bomb at her?" asked Leon.  Fox was about to answer him when a large shadow crossed over them and their comm's crackled to life.

"Negative, I will deal with her myself," said a voice.  Fox took his comm. receiver and held it up.

"General are you sure that's wise?  She's clearly a rebellious creature and they need to be put down now while they still can," said Fox.  Behind the Arwings a massive flying boat with a Lizard's head on the front soared in formation.

"She is of no concern.  She'll come aboard my ship and then I'll kill her," said Scales.

"It's your call.  Starfox Team pull out!" shouted Fox.  The three Arwings spun up and away from the ship as it accelerated forward.

Krystal heard the whine go away and patted Kyte to go upward.  The Cloudrunner burst above the clouds and soared through the night sky with the flying galleon directly ahead of them.

"What is that?  How does it soar above the clouds like that?" asked Kyte.

"I don't know.  Quick, go in for a closer look," Krystal said.  The cloudrunner blazed on and was soon directly next to the flying boat.  Looking over the deck, she saw nothing on board but large crates.

"I'm going aboard," she said after a few more moment's observation.

"Be careful," said Kyte.  Krystal stood up and leapt off the Cloudrunner onto the deck.  She swung her staff around expecting enemies to pour out of the ship but none came.  Krystal slowly crept from box to box but still no one appeared.  Finally Krystal decided to pry open a crate and see what was in it.  To her shock, inside the crates were advanced laser guns, incendiaries, heavy cannons, and plenty of other military technology, some of which she didn't recognize.  But the one thing that made her angriest, and somewhat afraid, was the fact that each device proudly bore the United Venomian Cornerian Attack Force seal.  Krystal slammed her fist against the weaponry in anger.

"Come now," said a voice from behind her. "I paid a good price for that weaponry and I don't want them damaged."

Krystal whipped around to find herself facing the largest creature she had ever seen.  Lightning struck overhead and illuminated the creature's evil face.  Krystal held her staff in a defensive position.

"Welcome to my humble abode.  Do you like it?  It was a gift from my old friend King K. Rool and when fitted with a state of the art UVCAF antigravity device it floats like a dream.  But where are my manners?  My name is General Scales," said Scales with a smile.  Krystal took a step back and swung her staff in a defensive manner.

"I've heard of you.  The dinosaurs say you led over 2,000 of them to their deaths when you tried to usurp the thrown," said Krystal still wary of the general.  Scales sighed and leaned against the railing of the ship looking out at the storm.

"Is that what they say?  Well they're wrong.  Did 2,000 die?  Ultimately yes.  But they died of their own free will because I showed them the truth!" said Scales.

"What truth?" asked Krystal with a snort.  Scales turned to face her.

"The truth that the leading dinosaurs have mined this planet to the point of exhaustion.  This planet is going to die unless I take over and the people must know.  I'm not evil, I'm just misunderstood," said Scales sympathetically.  Krystal could almost have believed the general, but his powers of persuasion were no match for her magical abilities.  If Scales was allied with the UVCAF then there was no chance he was ever out to do good.  She swung her staff around once more.

"I'm sorry general, but you'll have to do better than that.  You're allied with the UVCAF and they're not good at all nor will ever be," said Krystal.  Scales crossed his arms and sat against the railing, facing her.

"Why do you hate the UVCAF?" he asked simply.  Krystal's eyes turned to anger.

"Not that it's any of your business, but they secretly incited rebellion on my home planet of Cerinia and then their fleets showed up later only to blast it into oblivion because they deemed it 'unmanageable'.  They murdered everyone I've ever known and I vow to have revenge on them all," she said, her fists trembling with anger.  Scales nodded.

"I'm sorry," he said simply.  Krystal stared at him with anger and confusion.

"I don't need your pity," she said simply.  Scales uncrossed his arms and stood up to full height and laughed briefly.

"No, I'm not sorry for that, I'm just sorry that I'm going to have to kill you!" said Scales.  He immediately flung his left hand forward and picked up Krystal by her throat as she helpless banged her staff against Scales who didn't fell the blows at all.  Scales stepped over to the railing and dangled her over the side.

"Say hello to your family for me in the pits of hell," said Scales.  He then flung her over the side and wiped his hands to be rid of her.  Then to his surprise Krystal appeared again, riding the Cloudrunner.

"I don't think I'll be telling them anything for a long time to come!" she shouted.  Krystal was about to tell Kyte to fly off when she screamed in pain and terror as laser blasts flew out of nowhere and sliced through Kyte killing him and they both plummeted to the ground far below.  Out of nowhere and Arwing burst by and titled on vertically and slipped between the sails and met up with two other Arwings and they flew off in tandem into the night sky.  Scales watched them go before looking over the side at the clump of bodies plummeting towards the surface.

"Actually, I think you will be telling them after all," he said.

"Nice shooting Leon," said Fox as the Arwings soared off into the night sky.  Leon shrugged in his ship.

"What can I say, I'm the best," he said with a smile.  The Arwings then zipped off out of the planet and entered orbit.

"It's a nice planet, I think we'll take it," said Fox looking down at it.

"And so we shall boys, and so we shall.  Soon now, very soon now," said Andross as a massive Saruzin cruiser appeared above them.  The three fighters entered into it and it blasted off into warp back towards the Lylat System.


	2. Reconnaisance

Anguirus111 Note: I think the distances to various locales on Dinosaur Planet were ridiculous so if it takes the characters a few hours to get somewhere it's because according to the maps of the planet that's how long it should've taken.  BTW, the pod that Scales traveled in to Venom looks identical to the one in the Planet of the Apes remake.

Planet Centria, halfway between Dinosaur Planet and the Lylat System: _The Mantia_ came rocketing out of warp speed and was quickly escorted to its berth by dozens of fighters and a couple of Grazan cruisers.  Since General Scales had crashed on Venom so many years ago, the UVCAF forces had expanded outwards and had conquered three inhabited systems bringing many new creatures under the banner of the UVCAF forces.  It had been a rocky road, but in the end it had all paid off.  _The Mantia_ entered into its berth and was quickly tended to by various mechanics and engineers.  Andross exited the ship with the Starfox team and were escorted to a conference room.  On the way they passed a team of photographers who took their photos to be put into propaganda campaigns on various planets that had been and had not been conquered.  The team and Andross entered into the conference room that had a spectacular view of parts of the spaceyards and the sparkling blue planet below.  Then the doors were sealed shut and abruptly all noise stopped.

"So, how do we plan on taking over this one?" asked Fox as he hopped into a chair and leaned back, propping his feet up on the table.  He reached into a pocket and pulled out a toothpick and twirled it around before putting it into his mouth.  The rest of the team sat down as well and leaned on the table with their elbows.  Androsss simply walked to the head of the long table and the chair automatically slid out and turned towards him so Andross didn't have to do any work.  Then the chair slowly moved straight forward and closed to the table.  It stopped and Andross carefully lay his hands down on the table.

"Simple," he said. "By not conquering it."

"I don't follow," said Fox clearly baffled.

"It's simple really, you three show up on the planet and introduce yourselves as members of a system wide alliance.  You'll tell them you want to inspect their planet to see if they could be admitted into your alliance.  Scope out the place, take a few pictures, identify critical weaknesses, and a week later Warlord Hammer shows up with part of the Seventh Fleet and you conquer the planet.  Similar to Cerinina," said Andross simply.  Fox sat up in his chair.

"Speaking of Cerinia, we encountered one today on Dinosaur Planet.  Leon blasted her though so I don't think she's coming back," said Fox.  Andross seemed to digest this information with a little difficulty.

"Then I don't think it's safe to count her as dead yet.  The Cerinians are notably resilient which is why we blasted them to pieces.  Just watch out for her and anymore.  But back to the mission, your Arwings are being prepped as we speak.  You'll fly in with the _Falcon's Nest_ as it does its regular supply run to the Autinian system.  It'll drop you off and blast off into warp again.  That means you'll be on your own for a week while you conduct your mission.  If you're somehow ambushed by enemy forces during this time you're on your own," said Andross.  Fox closed his fingers together in front of his face.

"I see.  And where will Scales and his Sharpclaws be during our mission?" asked Fox.

"He and his men will be taking up strategic positions around key sites that they'll strike while we conduct our attacks as well.  You'll meet up with Scales once during your week, but it's up to him to contact you and arrange it," said Andross.  Fox nodded slowly.

"I see, now is this is an official sanctioned mission or not?" he asked.  Andross sighed.

"No, it isn't.  This planet doesn't pose a threat to the UVCAF forces in any way," said Andross.  Fox had begun to slouch but now he sat straight up along with the rest of the team.

"What?  Why?" he demanded.  Andross looked at him plainly.

"The planet is virtually devoid of any technology that we can locate," he said simply.

"No offense Emperor, but then why the hell are we bothering to invade this planet at all?" exclaimed Fox.  Andross sighed and leaned back in his chair.

"Unfortunately you and your team are not privy to that information," he said.  Fox leaned towards Andross with a small growl on his face.

"What exactly do you mean by _not privy_?  My team is possibly risking their lives on this invasion and you're not even going to tell us what for?" Fox asked incredulously.  Andross leaned towards Fox as well with a growl on his face.

"Remember who you're talking to McCloud.  I am Emperor of the UVCAF forces and I say what they can and cannot do," said Andross before taking on a more relaxed pose. "While there may not be anything militarily dangerous about them know this.  That planet may very well harbor a secret more deadly than anything we've ever come across before.  Everything we've accomplished in the last nine years and before that could very well be at stake.  I don't want to see our hard work come to nothing.  Do you understand?"

"I understand," Fox grumbled still not entirely satisfied with anything that was going on.  Andross meanwhile plastered on a fake smile.

"Good.  Now then you'll rendezvous with your ride at 0800 hours.  That gives you time to prepare anything you might need.  Fox don't worry, it'll all pay off in the end I guarantee it," said Andross with fake confidence.  Fox and his crew got up to leave.  As he passed by Andross who was still smiling Fox bent down and pointed his finger at him.

"This isn't over," he said.  Andross turned to face him still smiling.

"No," he said shaking his head. "It's only just begun.  But rest assured when this is all over you will be thanking me.  After all, yours is not to wonder why—yours is but to follow my instructions and eat pie in the sky."

Fox growled and left the room with his team.  They walked down several hallways in silence as Fox sulked before entering into a Spacer's Bar filled with various individuals.  Since they were all off duty at the moment, they all ordered beers and filed into a booth.  Fox leaned back as far as possible as he continued sulking.  Andrew and Leon just looked at each other nervously before taking sips out of their beer.

"It isn't fair, we have a right to know," said Fox softly.  Andrew and Leon nodded but said nothing.

"He should be able to trust us after all we've done for him, but he doesn't in regards to this, but why?  Something is very wrong here and I think that by the time we find out it'll be too late for all of us," said Fox.  Leon shrugged his head.

"Yeah but there's nothing we can do about it.  He is still the Emperor and he could still have us executed for heresy.  Even what you said right now could be construed as such," said the lizard.  Foxes chronometer beeped and he looked at it.

"Somehow I think dying would be better than what we're going to eventually find out.  Let's go boys, our ship awaits," said Fox.  He sighed, took one last swig of his beer, and tossed it into a garbage can along with the rest of them on their way out.  They walked down a couple more corridors before arriving at the berth for the freighter they were taking.  The security guards searched Leon, Fox, and Andrew before they entered the ship.  Upon entering they cast down their duffel bags and faced the captain of the ship, a fierce looking bulldog.

"Listen up boys, my name is Captain Keyhorne.  I run a tight ship here and I don't need you UVCAF punks messing it up.  I don't care that you're the Starfox team, you do not have free reign on my ship is that understood?  You are not to touch anything, you are not to walk around without a purpose, and you are not to do anything without my permission.  My mission is to get you to your target and that's it," said Keyhorne crossing his arms.  Fox sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose with his hand.

"Listen…captain.  On this ship I technically outrank you.  Now I don't give a damn about you or this ship either.  If you leave me along I'll leave you alone is **that** understood?" he asked.  The bulldog huffed.

"Whatever maggot.  Your quarters are on deck three sections C-1, C-2, and C-3," said the bulldog.

"Thank you," said Fox who gave a fake bow.  As he walked past Keyhorne he immediately grabbed his arm and thrust it behind his body.  As Keyhorne was wincing in pain, Fox pulled out a blaster and held it to his hand.

"Listen up buddy, no one calls me or my crew a maggot.  I could space you right now and never be questioned about it.  I'll ignore this outburst for now, but **don't** do it again or I will kill you," said Fox.  Fox put his foot on Keyhorne's back and kicked him forward where he smashed against the wall giving him a bloody nose.

"Let's go," said Fox to his team and they left Keyhorne and his guards in silence.

Dinosaur Planet, 3 hours later: The _Falcon's Nest_ came rocketing out of warp and opened its front bay door.  Three spotless fully repaired Arwings zoomed out of it and the freighter promptly re-entered warp.

"Back again it seems.  I hate this place," said Andrew.

"You're preaching to the choir, prepare to enter Dinosaur Planet's atmosphere.  We're going to set down in a place called…Thorntail Hollow.  I don't honestly know what that signifies, but clearly it's not important.  Hang on, we're entering the atmosphere, it's a rough road ahead.  And with that the three Arwings plunged into Dinosaur Planet's atmosphere.

Thorntail Hollow: Tricky was with his mom and dad inside their summer cavern just off of Thorntail Hollow and in front of the Portal that would open up a warp gate to the Walled City was.  While Dinosaur Planet was still in one piece, it beat walking all the way there to their palace.  Tricky playing with his ball while his parents discussed politics and dealing with the Cloudrunners.  Tricky pounced on his ball, but accidentally landed on it causing the ball to roll out of the cave.  As he ran to retrieve it, he looked up at the daytime sky and saw three bright lights slowly coming down.

"Mom!  Dad!  Look!" he shouted with excitement as he wondered what they could be.  His parents came out of the cave and looked at the lights above.

"Cloudrunners?" asked the Queen.  The King shook his head.

"Impossible.  They can't fly that high and they most certainly don't make that noise," said the King at the whining noise.

"Then who?" the Queen asked.  The King shrugged.

"I don't know, but we're about to find out.  Come dear, Tricky stay here," said the King.  He ran off with the Queen towards the Thorntails congregating in the meadow.  Tricky watched as the three lights shut off revealing three metallic birds.

"Wow," said Tricky in awe as the three birds landed in the meadow amidst the crowd of dinosaurs.

"The natives are restless eh Fox?" asked Andrew laughing.  Fox was watching the dinosaurs awe at them with a smile.

"And they have no idea what's coming.  Let's not keep them waiting any longer team," said Fox.  He shut down his Arwing and opened the canopy before descending to the surface below.  He approached the dinosaurs that parted giving a clear path for a large pair of Earthwalkers to come through.  Fox plastered on a fake smile when they approached.

"Who are you and why have you come here?" asked the King.  Fox cleared his throat.

"Allow me to introduce myself.  I am Fox McCloud, this is Leon Powalski, and finally Andrew Oikonny.  We are all proud members of the…VRF," said Fox finally.  Leon and Andrew each clamped their mouths shut to keep from laughing.  Fox shot them a warning glance while The King nodded.

"Good, for a moment there I was afraid you were part of the UVCAF forces.  We may not have had any encounters with them, but we're told they're deadly and take what they can get," said The King.  Fox nodded solemnly.

"Yes, we hate the UVCAF with all our hearts.  That's we've been actively opposing them over the years.  Andross is a deadly threat to us all," said Fox. 

"Good, we look forward to talking with you then," said The King.  Leon and Andrew ran from the group and far away from the group where their laughter couldn't be heard.  Fox just slapped his forehead.

"What's with them?" asked The King.  Fox watched them keel over behind a pair of rocks in laughter.

"Motion sickness I think.  We were on a long journey, sometimes it gets to them," said Fox and then said quickly under his breath. "Idiots."

"What exactly do you plan on doing here?" asked The King.  Fox shrugged.

"I just want to scope the place out, see what it has to offer.  Then we'll see if we can't establish a small VRF base here," said Fox.  The King nodded.

"We'll assist you in any way we can.  Do your men need help?" asked The King.  Andrew and Leon were rolling on the ground.  Fox shook his head.

"No.  I guess they just went slightly space crazy instead of being sick.  They'll pull through soon…or else," Fox said softly growling.  Leon and Andrew finally walked back to the group while rubbing tears from their eyes.  Leon intentionally coughed as he approached the group.

"Sorry about that," he said pounding his chest. "That space craziness really does get to you."

"Yes, I'm sure it does," said Fox staring at them.  Leon and Andrew gulped knowing they'd be chewed out for this later, but for now they just went along with the mission.

"Are your men going to be okay?" asked The King.  Fox nodded.

"Space craziness isn't permanent, they should be through the worst of it.  Just rest assured that they might find a few things funny for the next few days," said Fox with another fake smile.  The King nodded slightly nervously.

"I see.  Well if you're up to it I guess you'd want to start your survey now," said The King as he moved out into Thorntail hollow. "How long are you here for?"

"A week.  We want to get in as much surveying as possible," said Fox.  The King nodded.

"I see, now will you need anything to aide in your journey?  After all, this is a foreign territory for you," said The King.  Fox nodded.

"Yes, I'll need some maps of the surrounding areas to make our journey easier," said Fox.  The King stopped just in front of the river in the middle of the meadow.  He pointed his head at a building on the other side.

"Shabunga's store will have plenty of maps for you to purchase.  Since we dinosaurs have instinctual knowledge of every place on the planet we don't need them.  You'll have to see if he'll exchange your currency with his, if not there's not a whole lot than can be done," said The King shrugging helplessly.  Fox nodded his head.

"We'll try our best.  Leon, Andrew, check out the ships to see if they're okay, that turbulence was rougher than I thought it would be," said Fox walking off to the store.  Leon and Andrew nodded and walked back towards the Arwings.  Fox walked into the store and leapt down into its main hallway before entering into a central area with many strange devices around it.  The owner, Shabunga, was hovering above the floor.

"Hello McCloud," said Shabunga.  Fox nodded his head.

"Shabunga.  It's been awhile hasn't it?" Fox asked.  Shabunga nodded.

"At least seven years.  How're you doing?" asked the dinosaur.  Fox shrugged.

"So, so, at least I'm still alive.  I take it you're our contact with General Scales," said Fox.  Shabunga nodded.

"That's right," he said.  Fox looked around at the store.

"Nice place, very homey.  How long've you been here?" he asked.

"About three years.  The originally owner, how should I put this, mysteriously died all of the sudden and bequeathed everything to me.  I moved in and set up shop and I've been here ever since making goody goody with the locals," Shabunga said.  He spat out the last part like it was poison.  Fox nodded.

"I feel for you, these people are idiots no doubt about that.  But they might still surprise as yet," said Fox.  Shabunga shrugged.

"Maybe.  Listen, do you know why we're here?  I don't see anything worth risking an invasion over.  Sure there are vast mineral deposits, but we could simply strip mine the place and be done with it.  Why are we invading?" asked Shabunga.  Fox shrugged helplessly.

"I don't know why.  I was hoping you could've told me.  Do you see anything worth taking on this planet?" asked Fox.  Shabunga held up his hands in defeat.

"Only that some of these dinosaurs and a large Warpstone are capable of opening up warp gates to other parts of the planet.  Now that would pose a threat that I could see justifying taking over the planet.  The ability to open up a warp gate without technology could be a threat to the UVCAF and also be a great bonus if we were able to access it.  But I don't know how these dinosaurs do it and what makes them able to do it.  It would be easier simply to eradicate them than study them, but that's just me.  Anyway, what is it you want?" asked Shabunga finally.

"Maps," said Fox simply.  Shabunga nodded and left the room.  He came back with a stack of maps in his arms.  He then dropped them on a table and Fox began scanning them into his PDA.  When he was done he turned to leave.

"Ahem," said Shabunga holding out his hand.  Fox turned around.

"What?" he asked slightly annoyed.

"Well there is the little matter of my fee," said Shabunga innocently.  Fox shook his head incredulously.

"Forget it.  This money isn't meant for you.  My team needs to save it for anything else that might arise," said Fox.  Shabunga laughed.

"Like what?  No one's going to take UVCAF credits and if anyone else found out they'd arrest you.  Give me all of your credits and I'll exchange them for scarabs, the local currency.  That's after I deduct my fee of course," said Shabunga with a sly grin.  Fox crossed his arms.

"How do I know you won't be cheating me?" he asked.  Shabunga laughed.

"First of all I wouldn't do that.  Secondly, do you really think I could cheat you out of your money **without** Andross finding out?  He would eventually I promise you that and then it'd be my head.  Rest assured, I'm not going to cheat you.  Besides, all the money is pretty much going back to The Emperor anyway, it's not like it'll benefit me in the least," said Shabunga.  Fox nodded.

"Isn't that the damn truth.  Alright go for it," said Fox.  Shabunga nodded and left only to return a moment later with a large bag that was rippling.  He handed it to Fox who kept it at arms length.

"What the hell is this?" he asked incredulously.  Shabunga laughed.

"Scarabs.  The dinosaurs use these living bugs as currency.  Hey, I'm as disgusted as your are, but there's not much we can do about it," said Shabunga still laughing.  Fox looked like he was going to be sick, but gulped it down and moved on.

"Hey Fox!  Here!" shouted Shabunga.  He tossed Fox a trio of cardkeys.

"What're these for?" Fox asked after catching them.

"There's a little gift waiting for you in the archway between ThornTail Hollow and Cape Claw.  It's in a little tunnel on the left.  Trust me you'll enjoy it," said Shabunga.  Fox merely nodded having turned a little green when looking at the sack and left the store.  He walked back towards the Arwings where Leon and Andrew were having a small snack.  They offered Fox some but he politely declined.

"Let's get going, I have some maps downloaded into my PDA and I think Cape Claw would be the best place to start," said Fox.  Leon and Andrew nodded and prepared to head out when The King appeared from behind them.

"If you're going to be wandering about I think you should have a guide.  And I think the perfect guide would be mine since Tricky," said The King.  Tricky appeared behind his father's back and walked to the group.  Fox, Leon, and Andrew nervously laughed.

"Thanks, but that won't be necessary," said Fox turning to go.

"Oh but I insist," said The King.  Fox turned around.

"That **won't** be necessary.  He'll just slow us down," said Fox.  The King shook his head.

"On the contrary, my son is one of the fastest creatures on Dinosaur Planet," said The King.

"It's a nice offer but I'll have to decline," said Fox.

"Let me put this in layman's terms.  You willtake him or there will be no VRF base here and we'll force you to leave our planet.  We may not be technologically advanced, but we can do what we want," said The King.  Fox held his head while mumbling out some obscenities before facing The King.

"Fine, _your majesty_.  Let's go," said Fox.  He and his team walked off with Tricky bounding behind them.

"Are you really from outer space?  What's it like out there?  Have you fought a lot of battles?  I can't wait to go to outer space, I'll be the first dinosaur to leave our planet in a long time!" shouted Tricky.

"Yeah isn't that great," said Fox clearly annoyed.

"We're going to have so much fun together, you'll see," said Tricky not catching onto Fox's tone.  Fox groaned as they passed into an archway.  Partly there they find the cave with three large crates in it.

"What're these?" asked Tricky bounding up to them.  Fox shook his head.

"We're about to find out," he said.  Fox pressed the keycards into all of them and they slowly opened revealing three state of the art jetbikes.

"Impressive.  Who brought them here?" asked Leon and as they pulled out their bikes and hoped on.  Fox tossed his gear and the scarabs into the holding bin before leaping behind one and pumping the accelerator.

"They're from an old friend.  Let's go boys Cape Claw awaits.  Sorry kid, end of the line," said Fox.  Tricky looked at them.

"But, but, my dad said I should help you!" he said helplessly.  Fox looked at him.

"Kid, first rule of survival.  Don't use any thing that can't benefit you in some way.  What do you have to offer us?" asked Fox crossing his arms and leaning against the bike. 

"I'm strong, I'm fast, I can breath fire," began Tricky before Fox cut him off.

"If that's the best you can do you can forget it," said Fox sitting behind the throttle assembly on the bike and gunning the engine. 

"Wait, how much do you know about where you're going?" asked Tricky.  Fox let the RPM's die on the bike.  He turned to face the tiny dinosaur.

"Not much.  Why?  Are you offering you services in the form of information?" Fox asked.  Tricky nodded vigorously.

"Yes, yes!  I know a lot about this whole planet.  Stuff you won't find in any book and I'm perfectly willing to tell you if you bring me along," said Tricky.  Fox sighed and crossed his arms as if debating what to do.  Finally he turned to Tricky.

"Fine, you can come with us.  But we're not responsible for you and once your information runs out, we leave you behind.  Let's go, we haven't got all day," said Fox.  Tricky leapt onto the back as Fox hit the afterburners and the three bikes rocketed off towards Cape Claw.

Back at ThornTail Hollow, The King watched the group leave and vanish into the path leading to Cape Claw.  The Queen walked up to him.

"Why did you insist they let Tricky accompany them?  It wasn't necessary," said The Queen.

"On the contrary, it was.  There's something not right about those three and I'm hoping they'll slip up and reveal something to Tricky about who they really are and what they're doing here," said The King.  He stared at the tunnel a few moments longer before turning around heading off back to his cave.  Then he stopped and sighed.

"I'm returning to The Walled City.  I need to have a meeting with the other members of the council.  Stay here until I return," said The King.  A warp vortex opened in front of The King and he walked into it and disappeared.  The Queen looked around helplessly at the situation she was in when she noticed Shabunga staring at her from outside of his store as he was eating an apple.  He continued watching her passively even as she observed him.  Finally Shabunga finished with his apple and tossed it away into the meadow before proceeding backing into his store.

"_As if things weren't complicated enough…What is your interest in all this Shabunga?_" thought The Queen.  Somehow she had the premonition that when she finally did find out, she'd regret it.

Cape Claw, a few hours later: The denizens of the area were enjoying themselves immensely in the summer sun when a loud noise was heard.  A group of dinosaurs scattered near the entrance ramp to the cape when three jetbikes zoomed down the ramp towards the beach itself.  The bikes screeched to a halt before the water and the dinosaurs watched in surprise at the bikes and their occupants.

"What?" Fox demanded angrily.  The dinosaurs shrugged not wanting to anger the individual and noticing that Prince Tricky was them and of his own volition they assumed he had the approval of the King.

"Smooth Fox," said Leon powering down his bike.  Fox huffed.

"You'd think they'd never seen an alien before," said Fox crossing his arms.  Tricky shrugged and hopped off the bike.

"We don't get visitors that often so everyone at least has some interest in them.  But of course it'll pass in time," said Tricky.  He ran down to the water and splashed in it along with other dinosaurs.  Fox and Co. started down to the beach as Leon began snapping photos of the surrounding area.

"See anything here we should be concerned about?" asked Fox watching with slight disgust at the dinosaurs frolicking about.  Leon dropped his camera and pointed to the other side of the Cape.

"Just that cannon over there," he said.  Fox and Andrew snapped up their Hi-Def display goggles and viewed the cannon.  A dinosaur was mounting it and observing the ocean outside of the cape.

"Odd, you'd think they were expecting trouble," said Fox.

"Yeah but from whom?  Do you think from the island out there?" asked Andrew pointing out of the cape towards an island that was oddly shaped like an ape's head.

"Maybe.  Tricky!" yelled Fox.  Tricky turned and bound up the sand before shaking water everywhere.

"What Fox?" he asked genuinely wanting to help.  Fox looked a couple more moments into the goggles before dropping them.

"Why is that cannon pointing towards the ocean and what is the deal with that island out there?" asked Fox.  Tricky seemed to shy away from the question.

"Tricky you promised to give us information.  If you won't we'll just have to leave you behind," said Fox sternly.  Tricky sighed.

"Okay, okay I'll tell you.  That island belongs to the Kongs, a group of very intelligent apes who rule over several islands in the ocean.  They've been at odds with the dinosaurs for a long time and only communicate with them if it's a last resort.  Things almost turned very bad when King K. Rool and his band of Kremlings were forced to leave the dinosaur's land and they took their boat and went to war against the Kongs.  They blamed us while we said it wasn't our fight and it almost turned into a civil war because they began attacking some of our coastal settlements.  That was almost ten years ago and they haven't spoken with us since but there's always fear of reprisal so we have to defend ourselves," said the prince.  Fox bent down so they were face to face.

"There, now was that so hard?" he asked simply.  Tricky shrugged.

"Well no but," began Tricky before a scream was heard.  The group spun around to see several dinosaurs running from some smaller ones who were terrorizing them.

"Who're those jokers?" asked Fox clearly annoyed.  Tricky spun around and ran off.

"Run!  LightFoots, they're deadly!" he shouted.  Fox, Leon, and Andrew sighed before pulling out their blasters and checking the charges.  Fox aimed his blaster at one of the LightFoots and squeezed the trigger.  Sand flew up in front of the LightFoot's face as the blaster bolt struck near it's feet.  Abruptly all the LightFoot's stopped terrorizing the other dinosaurs and rushed towards Fox, Leon, and Andrew growling.  They skidded to a halt when the trio held their ground and faced the group without fear.

"Who are you?" one of the LightFoot's asked.  Fox crossed his arms.

"That depends, who's asking?"

"I am LightRay, the fastest LightFoot.  I have brought back many trophies for my people and I'm looking to make your toy a new acquisition," said LightRay pointing to Fox's his blaster.  His hand zoomed forward like a blur to take it, but Fox was faster and retracted his arm faster than the dinosaur's.  Fox then did a backflip kicking the dinosaur in the head.

"You'll have to be faster than that," said Fox grinning.  The LightFoot growled.

"Get them!" it shouted.  Then the beach was turned into a flurry of activity as Leon and Andrew began blasting LightFoot's while Fox and LightRay began playing a game of cat and mouse.

"C'mon LightFoot you're boring me!" shouted Fox with a smile as LightFoot tried desperately to tackle him but was consistently too slow.  Fox finally sat down on the ground against a palm tree.

"Well if that's how you want to do it I think I'll take a nap," said Fox closing his eyes.  LightFoot roared fiercely and leapt into the air.  As he was plummeting towards Fox, LightRay extended his claws and prepared to slash the fox in half.  But before he could get the chance a laser blast struck him in the back and LightRay plummeted towards the ground in pain with a massive hole in his chest.  Fox perked up his head and opened his eye.

"Second rule of survival, always watch your back," he said with a smirk.  Andrew twirled his blaster and put it away as he and Leon slowly walked towards the dinosaur.  As he lay there bleeding to death, Fox appeared over his head.

"Who are you?" asked LightRay in fear as blood flowed out of his mouth.  Fox leaned in close.

"I'm Fox McCloud of the UVCAF forces and I've come to conquer your world," he said softly.  LightRay looked up at him in fear and tried to yell something to warn the others, but then his eyes dimmed and he died.  Fox shrugged and stood up.

"So much for that," he said.  Tricky ran up to them.

"Wow," he said in awe and surprise.  The other dinosaurs were also shocked at the carnage, but begrudgingly had to admit that the group had ultimately saved their lives and their possessions.  They nodded in respect at Fox who shrugged and turned his direction back towards the island.

"Tell me Tricky, how much technology do the Kong's possess?" asked Fox as if the whole sequence of events with the LightFoots hadn't occurred.

"Tech-nol-ogy?" asked Tricky confused by that word.  Fox looked at him.

"Yeah, like our ships and bikes are examples of technology.  How much do the Kong's possess?" asked Fox as he looked through his Hi-Def device again.  Tricky shrugged.

"I don't know," he said helplessly.  Fox looked at him slightly annoyed.

"How can you not know?  You must know something," said Fox.  Tricky growled at him.

"Look, no one's been to that island for years okay!  I don't know!  You'd have to ask the Council of Elders," said Tricky.  Fox sighed.

"Can we at least go out there?  You know, charter a boat or something?" asked Fox.  Tricky adamantly shook his head.

"You can't go out there by any means that we possess.  If you fly out there, you will not be welcome back here again.  It'd be the same as if you were over there.  We have a strict non-interference policy with the Kongs.  Now stop asking difficult questions!" shouted Tricky angry.  Fox laughed.

"Fine, fine.  Now then, what can you tell me about that temple?" he asked pointing to a large temple built of the rock face at the end of the Cape.  Tricky expressed a sigh of relief.

"That is Ocean Force Point Temple, entrance to the area that houses the Spellstones," said Tricky.

"Spellstones?" asked Fox, his interest piqued.

"Yeah, four large stones that hold the planet together.  If someone were to remove them they planet would break apart and it would take a lot of effort to put them back and bring the planet back together," said Tricky.  Fox huffed.

"I certainly wouldn't bother putting them back it isn't worth it.  Tricky that's enough for now," Fox said.  Tricky ran off to the beach while Andrew stepped forward.

"Not even for money?" he asked.  Fox considered this.

"Depends how much and even though I'd probably say no," Fox admitted.

"So I guess we won't be bothering to remove them," said Leon.  Fox watched Tricky playing in the water and then out to Kong Island.

"Only as a last resort and even then only if we're going to obliterate the planet.  But I'm more worried about these Kongs.  They must have sufficient technology to warrant the dinosaurs to develop their own military technology.  I'd like to get a better read on their technology but to do so would ruin our cover.  Maybe Scales knows more about it than we do," said Fox.  As they were still contemplating it, a shadow briefly passed over them.  They each looked skyward as a trio of dinosaurs flew overhead.  Tricky growled as the dinosaurs swept over the cove and flew out towards the ocean.

"Who're they?" asked Fox.  Tricky continued growling.

"CloudRunners, we've had an uneasy truce with them as well.  They've despised us ever since we became rulers of this planet.  They've been quiet up until now but recently they've become more agitated," said Tricky.

"Why?" Fox asked, already suspecting the answer.

"One of them was brutally murdered and they think we did it even though there's no proof," said Tricky still growling.  Leon and Andrew silently chuckled.

"I see, well that's too bad.  But nevertheless I'm afraid we'll have to visit them because they'll pose the biggest threat to our operations if we were to build a base here.  The Kongs we can avoid, these we can't.  Is that okay?" asked Fox.  Tricky shrugged.

"You can go, but I won't becoming with you.  CloudRunner fortress is off limits to just about all saurians except for a lone BoneClaw.  Now if you'll excuse me it's going to be dark soon and I'm bedding down for the night," said Tricky.  He walked down to the beach and laid down among the other dinosaurs.

"What do you want to do Fox, break into the temple, communicate with Andross, what?" asked Leon.  Fox sighed.

"We can't do anything at the moment, let's just bed down and go to CloudRunner Fortress tomorrow.  Tricky won't be with us so we can set down and communicate with Andross then.  Who has got first watch?" asked Fox.  Andrew sighed.

"I'll take it," he offered.  Fox nodded.

"Fine, I've got second Leon you've got third.  Let's get some sleep," said Fox.  He lay down on his bike while Leon laid down on his.  Andrew meanwhile started a fire and sat down reflecting in it while he held his blaster at the ready against any offense.

Above them, General Scales boat slowly crept along the nighttime sky.  It flew quietly over the ocean towards Kong Island.  Scales looked out through a spyglass until he finally located his quarry, a boat resting on the surface of the water.  Scales steered towards it and the boat slipped silently onto the water next to the other large boat.  They sat side by side and Scales grabbed a line and swung over to the other boat.  He walked silently along the deck as if prowling his prey when several large lizards popped up and attacked him.  Scales began flinging them off one by one and deflecting their attacks.  Finally he dispatched the last lizard over the side of the boat.  As he lay there expecting another attack a light flicked on at the other end of the boat in front of the Captain's Cabin and a clapping was heard.

"Excellent Scales excellent.  It took you more of an effort the last time you tried to get help from me," said King K. Rool sitting in front of a desk with his back to the cabin door.  Scales growled and took his sword and flung it at K. Rool.  It flew forward and smacked into the door right next to K. Rool.  He reached behind him and tried to pluck it out but he couldn't so he gave up.

"Come now.  Temper, temper.  Why so angry to see me?" asked K. Rool with a large smile as he rested his hands on his overly rotund belly.  Scales growled and walked forward to K. Rool.  He stood there angrily growling at him before flinging the entire desk into the drink.

"You didn't show up with reinforcements causing me to loose my battle to the dinosaurs.  That resulted in my spending a long six months in the cold of space," said Scales angrily.  K. Rool laughed.

"Well you're back aren't you?  And like I told you earlier I would only give you reinforcements if you could prove you could conquer the planet on your own and you didn't.  What has changed?  Can you take the planet on your own?  Did you fine your famed UVCAF forces you kept jabbering on about?" K. Rool asked with a smile knowing that he didn't.  Scales laughed as well as he regarded a device in his hands.

"Actually, I did find the UVCAF forces and together with them we're going to conquer this planet.  But I didn't come here to tell you this I came here to give you a proposition," said Scales.  He set down the device on the deck and it activated showing a hologram of Andross.

"K. Rool, I am Emperor Andross of the Lylat System and Commander in Chief of the UVCAF forces.  In less than a week the UVCAF is going to invade that planet of yours and bring under the UVCAF banner.  What does that mean to you?  Simple, it presents you with a choice.  General Scales informed of your failure to provide him the backup he needed to conquer the planet unless he could conquer it on his own.  Now then it all boils down to his.  You and your…kremlings are going to assist him in taking out various installations just prior to our arrival.  Failure to do so or incompetence on your part will only result in you and your underlings being turned into slaves or worse and spending endless hours doing meaningless work.  I hope you know what's best for you and put you and your forces under General Scales command until we show up and take control.  Do not fail me K. Rool," said Andross.  Then the hologram fizzled out and the whole unit disintegrated.  Scales looked at K. Rool with a grin.

"I trust you're interested in providing your support?" asked Scales.  K. Rool nodded nervously.

"O-of course.  You have my full support general," said K. Rool gulping.  Scales laughed out loud as his vast carried over the ocean.

"Good, set course for Dragon Rock.  Once we get rid of the heavy artillery there, nothing will stop the UVCAF from conquering Dinosaur Planet and once we do, my revenge will be complete!  Nothing can stop us now!" Scales shouted to the heavens as the boat moved out and his took to the sky once more.  Unknown to both of them, they were being watched from Kong Island behind them.

"Well that can't be good," said Donkey Kong looking through a pair of binoculars at the two boats.

"What's up?" asked Diddy Kong standing next to him.  Donkey sighed.

"Looks like Scales is once again trying to conquer the dinosaurs again with the help of K. Rool and from the looks of things they've got some big league help this time," said D.K. before speaking into his comm. system.

"Funky, better prep all barrel fighters and all of our other defenses, I think we're about to have a major invasion coming our way soon and I want to be ready for it," said D.K.  An affirmation came over the comm. and D.K. watched the boats once more.

"Somehow when all this is over, I think we're all going to be suffering in the end," he said before turning back towards his treehouse.


	3. Prelude to Invasion

Early Morning: Fox sat up on his bike and rubbed the sleep out of his eyes.  Looking around he saw Andrew who rolled off of his bike onto the ground, promptly forcing him out of sleep.

"Ow!  That was fun!" shouted Andrew with a groan.  Fox chuckled.  Looking over he saw a smoking fire pit and Leon looking over a jetbike.

"They all ready to go?" asked Fox yawning and stretching.  Leon nodded.

"Yep," he said making a couple more adjustments to one of them.  Fox and Andrew began brushing their teeth with their official UVCAF toothpaste and toothbrushes.  Finally they broke open some MRE's and drank their coffee.

"Alright let's go," said Fox after they were done.  They all leapt onto their bikes when Leon nodded towards Tricky who was still snoozing.

"What about him?" he asked.   Fox scowled.

"Leave him.  A: He snoozes he looses and B: He said he wasn't coming with us to CloudRunner Fortress.  Let's go," said Fox.  He gunned his accelerator and the bikes kicked forward and zoomed off away from the cape back towards ThornTail Hollow.

Walled City: The King walked towards the central chamber of the temple and talked to his secretary, an elderly BoneClaw.

"Call the Council to session," he said.  The BoneClaw nodded and activated a switch.  The switch then activated the Sun and Moon Temples and shot out pulses of light to the homes of the various council members.

Passageway to ThornTail Hollow: The dinosaurs were beginning to wake up from their sleep when Fox and Co. came roaring in with their jetbikes.  But to their dismay, their Arwings were nowhere to be seen.

"Oh great, what now fearless leader?" asked Andrew looking around in a slight panic.  Then they heard a loud whistle.  They jerked their heads to see Shabunga motioning for them to quickly come into his store.  They quickly gunned their bikes and zoomed into the store.  They instantly powered down their bikes and leapt off.  Fox was about to say something when Shabunga instantly shushed him and motioned for them to follow him.  They walked to a giant rock on a second level walkway and Shabunga smacked his hand into the wall next to it and the rock moved to the side revealing a secret passageway.  They traveled through it and emerged in the bottom of a massive well that was converted into a UVCAF repair bay where various creatures were bustling about fixing and fine tuning the three Arwings located in the center of the bay with various tubes and wires hooked up to them while above them sunlight filtered in.  Shabunga smacked another wall and the passage closed.

"Sorry about the scare, but The King had some his so called 'scientists' snooping around the Arwings when they were in the meadow and I didn't want our cover blown so I had them moved here," said Shabunga.  Fox and company looked around in awe.

"When was this put in?" asked Fox.  Shabunga looked around as well.

"Last night.  The _Falcon's Nest_ swung by last night and dropped off one of the prefabricated repair bays specially designed for this well.  The _Falcon's Blood_ zipped by as well and dropped off the maintenance staff," said Shabunga.  Fox nodded.

"And no one noticed?" he asked mystified.  Shabunga shrugged.

"It'd take nothing less than a nuclear blast to wake these creatures up and even then they'd just shrug as they were roasted alive.  So what's today's agenda?  Where's the tyke?" asked Shabunga.

"We ditched him back at Cape Claw, we're planning to go to CloudRunner Fortress and he wasn't willing to come," said Fox leaning back against a wall of the facility.  Shabunga nodded.

"Yeah and according to Intel they're burying that CloudRunner Leon annihilated a couple days ago.  I'd be careful, they might kick you out or imprison you," said Shabunga.  Fox nodded his acknowledgment and stood there silently contemplating their situation.  Angrily he yanked a toothpick out his mouth and flung it away and stormed off and began pounding his Arwing with his fist.

"Why are the hell we here?  It doesn't make sense!" shouted Fox to the heavens, but no response came.  Andrew sighed.

"Have you come any closer to determining why my uncle sent us here?" he asked.  Shabunga shook his head.

"No.  This planet has absolutely no strategic value and very little mineral resources to exploit.  Sure there's some gold but not enough to warrant invasion like Cephalus-7.  The only other reason would be that something more is going on here then meets the eye but as to what I don't know.  I just don't know what to tell you," said Shabunga helplessly.  Fox sighed and straightened his outfit.

"Well we can't dwell on that now, it's against the law.  Let's go," said Fox.  He boarded his Arwing and powered it up.

Outside The Queen was walking around sniffing out grubtubs as she also tried to sort out her thoughts about the recent days events.

"_These strange visitors, my husband's discontent, and now the vanishment of their vehicles.  What does it all mean?_" she thought.  Then her thoughts were shattered by a loud whine.  She looked about in panic and watched in awe and slight horror as one Arwing lifted out of the well and blazed off toward the horizon.  Then a second and a third emerged and flew off as well pursuing the third.  The Queen quickly ran over to the well and stuck her head in the side to look down on it, but when she looked inside she saw nothing but water in it.  She shrugged and was about to walk away when she realized that there hadn't been any water in that well for years.  She quickly looked in again, but the image now was a massive dried up well full of tunnels and bridges.  She just shook her head in dismay and figured she was going crazy so she just wandered off in a daze.

Down below Shabunga breathed a sigh of relief.

"_That was close, if she'd come down here we'd be in trouble.  That hologram generator can only produce an image, not a physical setting.  This week had better end soon or we're all in trouble,_" he thought as he turned and left to go back to his store and more time to contemplate their situation.

In the sky above a massive forest, the birds were happily chirping to themselves and a pair of picnickers were happily enjoying their meal.  As they were depositing their trash in a nearby trashcan, three Arwings zoomed by overhead leaving a massive wake behind them flinging trash everywhere.  As the couple was about to clean up the even bigger mess, they were instantly hit with three sonic booms and they were flung back and knocked unconscious as the trash flung up in the air and began pursuing the Arwings' wake.

"Haven't done that in awhile," said Leon with a smile.  Fox nodded.

"How I used to miss the old days when we did this all the time," said Fox sighing. "How I miss the old days."

The three Arwings comm. systems crackled to life.

"Uh, Fox?" asked Shabunga.  Fox clicked on his comm. system.

"What's up Shabunga?  You any closer to solving our mystery?" Fox asked as he tilted his Arwing to the left and blazed off to port.

"Heh, heh.  No.  Actually I'm calling because the dinosaur council is having a meeting regarding your and your cohorts at the Walled City.  I've bugged it and the dinosaurs are about to enter a heated debate about what to do about you.  Anyway, it takes a little bit for the comm. system warms up and I need to hear the entire conversation for our safety so could you buzz the temple, it's on your way so I don't see it being a problem," said Shabunga.  Fox nodded even though Shabunga couldn't see him.

"Alright, we'll do it," said Fox.  He hit the afterburners and the ship boosted forward towards the Walled City.

In the Walled City, the dinosaurs were just beginning to discuss the outsiders in a central chamber.  Everyone was present except for The Queen CloudRunner because she was currently attending the funeral services for Kyte and refused to be bothered.

"King Earthwalker, why have you called us into session?  It's summer and is a beautiful day, why are you bothering us?" asked Garunda Te.  The King huffed.

"Simple, I don't trust our recent 'guests'.  They're simply too violent for what I've heard of the VRF.  Just recently they killed a unit of LightFoot's!" shouted The King.  LightShow, the leader of the LightFoot leaned forward.

"They were rogue units I assure you.  I do not mourn their loss," said LightShow.  Some sighed not knowing whether or not to believe the dinosaur or not.

"Look regardless, they were harassing dinosaur citizens and that group were perfectly in their rights to take them out.  You know it and I know it," said Garunda Te.  The King was about to respond when an aide rushed in.

"Sir, incoming!" shouted the aide.  The King looked panicked.

"RedEyes?" asked The King.  The aide shook his head.

"No sir, our guests are about to blaze by overhead in their fighters!" shouted the aide.  The group rushed outside and onto the steps as they heard a whining noise.  They each took a step on the pyramid and watched as the three Arwings blazed by overhead leaving a jetstream behind them in their wake before flying off towards CloudRunner Fortress.  

"Impressive," said LightShow.  The King growled as they walked back into the chamber..

"Look at them showing off!  Arghhh!  I don't know what it is, but they're not who they seem to be and I want them incarcerated as soon as possible until we ascertain their true reasons for being here, and the same goes for Shabunga I think he's in on it too," said The King.  The others shrugged.

"It's your call, but we'll have no part in this.  If they are the VRF then we don't want them angry with us.  If they aren't VRF and are someone else who may or may not be worse than them, all the more power to you," said Garunda Te shrugging.  Then the council members began filing out.  The King nodded with satisfaction.

"Excellent," he said with a smile and walked off with to open a gate back to ThornTail Hollow.

"Shit!" shouted Shabunga.  He tore off his earpiece and turned to the fifteen other creatures in the repair bay.

"Boys I hate to have your work be finished so soon, but we have to evacuate the bay.  Set charges for remote and then pack up your things and head to fallback position one," said Shabunga.  The other creatures nodded glumly and moved out.  Shabunga meanwhile activated the comm. relay.

"Fox!  Hey Fox come in!" said Shabunga into the comm., but all he got was static.  "Damn they must be out of range."

"Sir?" asked a soldier, one of three assigned to the bay.  Shabunga looked at him.

"Yes?  I'm a little busy here," said Shabunga as he returned to his console and began pressing buttons.  The soldier looked a little nervous.

"Sir, what if we encounter any dinosaurs and they ask to know who we are?  Do we go out shooting or just shrug and move on?" asked the guard.  Shabunga shrugged.

"I can bluff our way out of Thorntail Hollow but if we encounter any stragglers, waste 'em.  But first I'm going to see if Andross can't pull us out sometime before the week is up," said Shabunga.  The guard nodded and walked off.  Shabunga meanwhile set up a separate comm. link towards The Lylat System.  The system wasn't set up for direct communication so Shabunga typed in his inquiry.

"MISSION FAILED.  IDENTITY SUSPECTED, FORCES CLOSING IN.  ARE FALLING BACK TO DEFENSE POSITION ONE.  PLEASE SEND TRANSPORT FOR PICKUP," Shabunga typed in and transmitted it.  He waited for a few moments and then a message popped up.

"REQUEST FOR EVAC. DENIED.  FALLBACK TO DEFENSE POSITION ONE APPROVED.  EXPECT FLEET ARRIVAL IN THREE HOURS.  INVASION IMMINENT.  INVASION IMMINENT.  INVASION IMMINENT," the message began repeating.  Shabunga dropped his comm. piece.

"Oh my God," said Shabunga as he jerked his head upwards to stare at the sunny sky.  Somewhere out there was a massive battlefleet in transit to Dinosaur Planet.  Shabunga spun his chair around and stared impassively at the group as he contemplated his situation.  They were just doing some final cleanup so they all stopped to look at him.

"What's wrong?" someone asked.  Shabunga leaned back laughing in his chair.

"Nothing's wrong.  It's just that in three hours the shit is going to hit the fan when an UVCAF Fleet is going to appear right above our heads and invade this planet.  It's never going to be the same again and we'll be the last to see it in it's unchanged state.  Let's go," said Shabunga.  He got up and the group prepared to leave.  Shabunga went over to the troop commander.

"We going to blast this thing just prior to the fleet landing to throw off any troops that might arrive.  If nothing comes of it we're going to come back and de-wire the place," said Shabunga.  

"What of the Starfox team?" asked the commander.  Shabunga looked back up at the sky.

"Their threat detectors will immediately locate the charges and not land inside.  They'll land outside and if the walk inside the store, the well will tell them that we've evacuated.  If they're captured then there's no problem.  The fleet invades and we get them back," said Shabunga heading for the exit to the store along with his troops.  The commander nodded and the group packed up their belongings and left.

CloudRunner Fortress: In the back of the fortress where the three docks bridged (the three pieces of stone that jut out with the boxes and one is where you found the first baby CloudRunner) out into the sky, a funeral procession slowly moved out in a long line as the CloudRunners mournfully carried the body of Kyte to the edge of the Fortress overlooking a large chasm.  As the group was walking along the side of the temple towards the center dock, a whine was heard and the group looking up to see the three Arwings fly by over the fortress and land on the three docks.  Fox, Leon, and Andrew exited their Arwings and walked to the procession.

"Greetings, I am Fox McCloud, this is Andrew Oikonny, and finally Leon Powalski.  I trust you've been informed of our presence here and that we're simply surveying the surrounding area in the hopes of putting up a VRF base," said Fox.  The CloudRunners looked at them darkly as a storm quickly brewed and lightning struck everywhere.

"In case you weren't aware, we're busy here!" shouted The Queen CloudRunner, SkyQueen.  Fox nodded humbly.

"Yes our apologies.  But we couldn't find any other time to come.  I offer my condolences to the loss Kyte," said Fox.  SkyQueen huffed.

"Then stay out of our way!" she shouted as the procession continued moving on.  They approached the edge of the dock overlooking the abyss down below.  A BoneClaw opened a book and began speaking.

"We are here today to honor our blessed comrade in arms Kyte.  He didn't know the thought of being selfish.  Instead he died serving others.  We don't know the fate of the Cerinian whom he was transporting, but we can be assured that he died defending her to the bitter end.  We'll find the cause of his death and then we'll strike back at his attackers with full force.  Salute!" shouted the BoneClaw.  The CloudRunner's lifted their heads and blasted charged particles into the sky from their mouths.  They fired three shots and then Kyte's enshrouded body was tossed over the ledge and it fell until it was out of sight.  The CloudRunner's all shed a tear and then flew off in their own directions.  SkyQueen sighed and looked at the three travelers.  She then had a hushed conversation with the BoneClaw and then she flew off accompanied by her children.  The BoneClaw walked over to them.

"Greetings, I will be your guide around the fortress," said the dinosaur.  He then led them on a path describing the fortress itself.

"Originally built to defend the CloudRunners from their mortal enemies the Skybaxes, a group of flying dinosaurs similar to the CloudRunners themselves, the fortress ceased to possess weaponry when the final Skybax died in captivity three hundred years ago.  Since then CloudRunner Fortress has become a bustling area of commerce for the various tribes of Dinosaur Planet.  Various Sky Galleons often dock at the ports you just landed on and all ground-based transport is met at the front gate.  The inner square is a plaza where various goods and services are sold at the daily market," said the BoneClaw leading them through the hallways of the fortress.

"What kind of weaponry did this place used to possess?" asked Fox studying their surroundings.  The BoneClaw looked at him confused.

"Is it important?" it asked.  Fox shrugged.

"The VRF is constantly in the market for cheap weaponry to fight off the UVCAF forces.  If we knew what you had and what it was capable off, we might be willing to purchase some of your heavy weaponry," said Fox.  The BoneClaw shrugged helplessly.

"I don't know what you hope to accomplish with antiquated weaponry, but if you insist…" said BoneClaw.  Fox nodded.

"I do," said Fox.  The BoneClaw sighed.

"We possess several cannons, missile launchers, and sonic wave devices.  I don't know much more than that because the weapons were put into storage before anyone here was born and I don't think anyone knows how to operate any of them anyway," said the BoneClaw.  Fox looked at him confused.

"Then how do you protect yourselves in case of attack?" he asked.  The BoneClaw led them into the courtyard.

"At Dragon Rock there is an automated defense system maintained by one member of each tribe.  It's designed to ward off attacks from anyone with its missiles and other forms of artillery.  It can even defend us from a space attack because it possesses a heavy laser capable of going into space.  With that in place we are safe from any attack whether it be internal or external in nature," said the BoneClaw.  Fox looked at the dinosaur quizzically.

"That's strange.  Based on the technology we've seen so far it would seem impossible for the dinosaurs to build something like that," said Fox confused.  The BoneClaw looked at Fox as it walked down a hallway.

"That's because it was presented to us as a gift from beings from the stars," said the dinosaur.

"Being from the stars?" Fox repeated.  The BoneClaw nodded.

"They came many years ago with a small fleet of five ships.  They did not stay long, but presented us with all forms of technology that we had never seen before.  They told us about what was happening in the stars and their home system and to always be on our guard against those who might come to conquer us.  They set up Dragon Rock to defend us from any who might take our planet from us and has continued to operate all this time on principles we don't understand.  But come, enough on that matter.  Let us move on," said the BoneClaw as it led them past the bustling market place and down another hallway towards the Generator Room.

Dragon Rock: The massive automated defense silo hummed with energy with power and menace as if daring anyone to come and attack it.  On a rocky cliff overlooking the area, K. Rool, Scales, and several SharpClaw and Kremlings stood looking down at the facility while behind them stood their two Sky Galleons resting on the ground.  K. Rool glanced one last time at the weapon silo before putting down his binoculars and groaning.

"If I'd realized you intended you were serious about attacking this place I wouldn't have come.  Do you realize how many people have died attacking this place?  It's impenetrable!" said K. Rool a little giddy with the thought of his impending doom being close at hand.  Scales growled.

"For the last time, it's impenetrable with our current weaponry, but **not** with the advanced weaponry provided to me by the UVCAF," said Scales one more time.  K. Rool scowled.

"Yeah, this wonderful UVCAF has all the answers!" said K. Rool sarcastically. "I don't believe they're as great as you say they are."

"You've heard about them haven't you?  Those stories about their weaponry and battles aren't made up they're all true.  I worked with them for several years during my forced exile into the abyss of space and believe me, they can conquer this planet even without our help," said Scales.

"So why are they even bothering making us help them?" asked K. Rool.

"Because like all good invaders they know that the quicker the invasion process, the easier it'll be.  The last thing they want is for the citizens of Dinosaur Planet to hole themselves up somewhere and become a problem.  The UVCAF moves in, conquers the planet, and then begins to rule it," said Scales repeating something that had become quite familiar with him during his years with the UVCAF forces.  He'd done this on countless other planets so this was nothing new, it's just that conquering his home planet was.

"Do you know why they're invading this planet?" asked K. Rool trying a different angle.

"No, but I would assume it has something to do with resources.  Either that or strategic importance," said Scales shrugging.

"Are you sure?" asked K. Rool.  Scales glared at him.

"Why?  It's not important," said Scales waving his hand as if to toss the matter aside.  K. Rool seemed to shift into a more relaxed poise as if entering a territory he was familiar with.

"I'm just trying to figure out the truth.  Being someone who is skilled in the art of deception, I can tell you right now that the reasons you just mentioned are not the reasons why this 'Andross' is coming here," said K. Rool.

"What do you mean?" demanded Scales.  K. Rool shrugged.

"Typically if your boss doesn't tell you why you're doing something, in all likelihood it isn't what you think it is.  If it were that simple then why wouldn't Andross tell you outright?  No, no my friend it's much more complicated then that.  I just hope whatever it is that Andross wants is worth it to authorize an invasion," said K. Rool.  Scales shook his head to clear his thoughts.

"Enough, there will be no more talk of this.  According to my last communiqué with Andross, the invasion fleet is expected to arrive in less than two hours.  We have to deal with Dragon Rock now," said Scales.  He pulled a small device out and put it on the ground.  A second later the device whirred to life and displayed a 3-D rotating image of Dragon Rock.

"Impressive," said K. Rool trying to figure out how the device worked.

"The first thing we have to do is take out the communications array.  If we prevent outside communication we also stop the dinosaurs from knowing something's up and sending someone to investigate.  At the same time we also need to capture the tribe members stationed here so they don't escape and warn the outside population of our attack.  All of this while evading the defensive platforms," said Scales.

"Oh is that all?  And how do you plan to do that?" asked K. Rool with a snort.

"Simple, we use your Galleon as both a decoy and cannon fodder as we sneak into the compound," said Scales.  K. Rool looked at him in shock.

"You're not using my boat for anything!" he shouted.  Scales growled at him.

"It's either that or live the rest of your life in torture when Andross finds out you didn't help him with the invasion," said Scales.  K. Rool shuddered.

"I don't like this, the possibility for death or bodily harm is too great" he said finally.

"Look at it this way, life it too short but death is eternal.  Your life is too short as it is, so put it to good use," said Scales.  K. Rool growled.

"Fine!  Go on," said K. Rool not liking this plan in the least but willing to go along with it.

"Everything about this plan lies on your boat and the creatures crewing it.  The boat must do this or the whole plan fails.  It must first take out the communications array, draw the fire of the defensive platforms allowing us into the crater, and smash into the central tower temporarily disabling it.  From that point the team that rushes the compound while split up with one group taking out the power arrays and the second capturing the creatures who reside here.  Once the anti-personnel devices are out of power, we quickly take out the anti-aircraft devices with my galleon and when that's done we plant charges on the main tower and pull out before it explodes," said Scales.  K. Rool looked at him incredulously.

"There are so many ways this plan can fail," he said shaking his head.

"Well there's no time to think about it because it's starting now!" shouted Scales and immediately K. Rool's galleon took to the sky and all hell broke loose on Dragon Rock.

CloudRunner Castle: "So how does it work?" asked Fox wandering around the generator room along with the rest of his team.

"It's powered by three light gems that provide energy to maintain the wind lifts and electricity in the facility.  We run a simple laser into the gems that refracts into a much larger laser that operates our turbines," said the BoneClaw.  Fox nodded clearly impressed.

"It's very impressive," he said voicing his admiration.

"Coming from someone whose civilization is as advanced as yours that isn't small praise.  But come, we still have a little more exploring to do," said the BoneClaw leading them out of the room.  As they were leaving, Fox shook his leg as if it had fallen asleep on him and a device dropped out of his pant leg and rolled into the generator room as the team left.  This device was an EMP and would go off when signaled to.  The BoneClaw failed to notice it and headed the team towards the treasury.

Dragon Rock: The whole area erupted into chaos as K. Rool's Sky Galleon came zooming over the edge of the crater and opened fire on the Dragon Rock installation while being promptly hammered by a missile barrage from all sides.  Surprisingly the shields held after the first barrage and continued the assault on the complex.  Heavy laser cannons had replaced the regular projectile cannons located in the hull while even more were placed on the deck.  Also, the Kremlings and Sharpclaws on board had laser rifles and were firing at everything they laid their eyes on.  While that was going on, several Sharpclaw and Kremlings poured into the crater on foot while firing their laser rifles.  The Sky Galleon soared overhead while drawing even more fire, but the shield were beginning to fail and the ship was being knocked around.  Several creatures fell off the sides and dropped to their deaths.  Finally one of the Kremlings pulled out an RPG and fired it off towards the center tower.  It flew off in a wide spiral before crashing into the top of the tower and exploding, taking out all of the antennas.

"Excellent!  Now the base is ours!" shouted Scales watching the ensuing explosion.  The antennas dropped to the surface and skewered several Kremlings on the ground.  Scales hoisted his heavy pulse cannon and began firing at various incoming missiles.  An explosion went off nearby blasting the base out of a tall stalagmite.  Nearby a hovering anti-personnel cannons shields suddenly died.

"Generator 1 is down," said a voice over the radio.  Scales ran through the crater blasting at the now defenseless anti-personnel cannon.  Several other creatures opened fire as well and the cannon exploded.  As more creatures moved on to take out the other two generators, the Sky Galleon's shields failed and large chunks of the ship came flying off as missiles smashed into it.

"Sir this is _Sky Galleon 1_, we've had it.  This ship isn't going to stay up much longer. We're arming the explosive now and are preparing to-" said a voice before the radio burst into static as another explosion rocked the ship.  Smoke began pouring out of various areas as the ship slowly began an arcing decent towards the center tower as more missiles hammered into it.  A second and third explosion went off taking two more stalagmites.

"Generator 2 and three are d-," said a voice.

"Take cover!" shouted Scales, cutting the voice off and diving to the ground as the Sky Galleon, trailing fire, plowed into the second unshielded anti-personnel cannon before smashing into the central tower.  The ship hung there for a moment with the fires still blazing behind it and it slowly began to drop when it exploded flinging debris everywhere.  Over a third of the tower melted or toppled to the ground.  As a result, instead of a steady barrage of missiles, only three emerged at random intervals.  

"My ship!" shouted K. Rool safely hiding at the top of the crater peering down at the team through binoculars.  Then a third explosion went off flinging debris everywhere.

"Generator 3 is down.  All generators are down!  Commencing attack on the remaining anti-personnel cannon," said a voice.  Laser blasts erupted as more missiles rained down blasting parts of the ground up and flinging debris and bodies everywhere.  Then the final anti-personnel cannon came crashing down and an eerie silence filled the air.  The silence was then shattered as the second Sky Galleon came zooming by over the lip of the crater and missiles streaked up to greet it as it opened fire on the three power cells on each tower controlling the missiles.

"C'mon we need to find the local residents before they try and bolt.  They haven't gone anywhere yet and I don't intend on them going anywhere soon!" shouted Scales.  A guard ran up to him with several cuts that were pouring trickles of blood.  The guard quickly saluted, which Scales quickly returned.

"Sir we think we've found them.  They're holed up in High Top Tower.  We've got units on top and there's no tracks so they haven't left," said the soldier.  Scales nodded.  Above explosions went off as the Sky Galleon continued trading blasts with the missile towers.

"Let's move.  You five with me the rest of you take out those power cells," said Scales running off followed by five Sharpclaw.  The rest aimed their lasers upwards and fired at the power cells.  Scales meanwhile smashed his way through a door and began prowling the hallways with his Sharpclaw.  They carefully darted from wall to wall searching their prey.  As they rounded another corner, a robot appeared out of nowhere and sliced a Sharpclaw in half before Scales ripped its circuits out.  The droid fell to the ground in a heap of melted circuitry.

"Let's go," said Scales taking off down the hallway.

Room inside High Top Tower: A ThornTail, LightFoot, CloudRunner, SnowHorn, EarthWalker, and HighTop all stood crowded in a single room massive enough to hold all of them.  They were clustered around a small console that was showing images of the ensuing battle outside dispersed with static.

"We're going to die unless we get a signal out of here!" shouted the ThornTail.

"Even if we do, Scales will still have us killed!" shouted the LightFoot balling out tears.

"For the last time that's not Scales out there!  It's just another creature that looks like him!  We're going to be fine I just have a few connections to make and then we can send a message through the groundwire.  We're perfectly safe in here, no one can find us because no one knows the layout of this base," said the EarthWalker operating the controls of the console.

"I wouldn't bet on that," said a voice.  The group twisted their heads to see a figure standing in the shadows, its eyes glaring red.  The figure stepped into the light to reveal General Scales with a laser cannon in one arm and his artificial prongs flashing in the light.

"Hello boys, I'm back.  Did you miss me?" laughed Scales evilly.  The creatures were taken aback.

"No, you're dead.  This isn't happening!" said the CloudRunner.  Scales chuckled.

"But it is.  I have returned with friends and now dinosaur planet is ours!" shouted Scales.  The EarthWalker growled in anger.

"Over my dead body!  I'll die before I bow down to you!" shouted the beast.  It charged Scales who merely leapt out of the way and fired his blaster point blank, severing the EarthWalker's spin so it dropped to the ground dead.

"And so you did," said Scales simply, twirling his blaster around on his fingers before putting it away.

"What do you intend to do with us?  Are you going to make us your slaves?" asked the CloudRunner.  Scales barked out a laugh.

"No," he said shaking his head. "No, I don't.  I don't.  The UVCAF mandate doesn't require the taking of prisoners unless they're deemed 'important' and you, you foul sacks of garbage are decidedly not.  No, you must die."

And with that, Scales pulled out his blaster and shot the ThornTail, LightFoot, CloudRunner, and SnowHorn.  Scales then looked up at the HighTop.

"As for you, I have something special planned.  Since you spend so much time in the clouds, I think I'll show you the ground up close and personal as you're buried alive!  So long!" shouted Scales as chunks of the ceiling came crashing down.

"No!  Have mercy!" shouted the HighTop as Scales prepared to leave.

"You should've thought of that before you condemned me to the abyss of space!  Any mercy I had left died out there!  Goodbye!" shouted Scales as the ceiling collapsed burying the High Top alive.  Scales exited the building as his Sky Galleon appeared from above the roof after having collapsed it.  It landed on the ground and picked up Scales before taking off.

"A job well done," said K. Rool resting on a deck chair.  Scales shrugged.

"Coming from you that means a lot," said Scales mockingly.  K. Rool shrugged.

"I survived, that's all that matters," he responded.  

"Are the charges placed?" asked Scales.  A sharpclaw nodded.

"They are," it said.  Scales half-turned with a wicked smile.

"Then blow it now!" Scales shouted.  The sharpclaw nodded and pressed a button.  K. Rool immediately leapt upward.

"No you fool!  We're too close!" shouted K. Rool right before Dragon Rock exploded behind them.  The ensuing explosion vaporized Dragon Rock in an ensuing mushroom cloud and the shockwave spread outward slamming into the Sky Galleon and shaking it violently.  And then everything went to white.

CloudRunner Fortress: Fox and Co. were standing in the Treasury with their jaws hanging open at the large amount of gold inside the room.  The BoneClaw chuckled.

"I see even your civilization has developed an affinity for this element.  That's good, at least we have something in common!" said the BoneClaw laughing even harder.  The team nervously chuckled as well.  Then their nervousness quickly faded to concern as the whole fortress shook violently and an explosion was heard in the distance.  The team ran out of the armory across the walkway hugging the building and ran onto the dock where their Arwings were resting.  In the far distance, a small mushroom cloud could be seen.

"What the hell?" Fox asked.  But as he said this, Fox had an idea forming as to what had happened.

"I don't know, I just don't know," said the BoneClaw frightened.  Alarms began blaring all over the fortress as several CloudRunners raced by overhead towards the large cloud.  Instantly the Queen CloudRunner was by their side.

"Perhaps it would be best if you left for now.  There are things going on here that do not concern you," said the Queen.

"I think we need to know.  If a VRF base is going to be built here we need to know about any strange occurrences.  This is one of them," said Fox.  The Queen whirled and glared at him.

"You'll either leave or sit this out in our dungeon, it's your choice," said the Queen before flying off as well.  Fox watched the CloudRunner swarm fly off and he stood there debating his choices.  Finally he twisted around to look at his comrades.

"Come on, we're leaving.  Things aren't exactly going to plan here," Fox said.  He ran off to his Arwing as the team followed.  They ran out onto the dock, which were beginning to fall apart as a result of the shockwave.  They each leapt into their fighters and were in the process of powering them up when the docks snapped and the three Arwings tumbled down the cliff with the docks tumbling down with them.

"Oh no!" shouted the BoneClaw it ran to the edge of what remained of the docks only to hear a loud whine fill the air.  As the BoneClaw watched, the three Arwings lifted up and into the sky as the cut from repulsorlifts to their main drives and blasted off, trailing into the distance with only their engine lights indicating their position as they flew out of sight.

ThornTail Hollow: "Quickly, quickly.  We don't have much time!  We've got less than an hour before that fleet shows up and pound this area to a pulp," said Shabunga as the UVCAF creatures abandoned his store and were running off through the tunnel that would take them to SnowHorn Wastes.  Suddenly the whole tunnel rocked and parts of it fell down to the ground.

"What was that?" asked the lead soldier.  Shabunga looked at his PDA.

"That was the bay.  Looks like the dinos stumbled on it and it blew," said Shabunga.  Down the tunnel they could faintly hear alarms from ThornTail Hollow.

"We don't have much time before they come looking for me," said Shabunga. "We've got to get to Ice Mountain.  UVCAF engineers built a small bunker up there about seven years ago.  It's got weapons and supplies that we can hold out for quite awhile.  The key is in getting there.  I just hope that transport is still next to those hot springs.  If not we're going to have a hell of a time eluding the dinos before the fleet arrives."

The group continued hurriedly walking down the tunnel before reaching the end of it and the BribeClaw awaiting them.

"Pay up," it said simply.  Shabunga sighed.

"You know me BribeClaw, let us go this one time without paying you.  You know I'm good for it," said Shabunga.  The BribeClaw shook his head.

"No pay, no pass," it said.  Shabunga sighed, holding his head.

"What do we do?" asked the leader.

"Pay," the BribeClaw offered simply.  Shabunga snapped his head up.

"We don't have time for this.  Waste him," said Shabunga.  The BribeClaw watched in horror as the team opened fire on him.  The BribeClaw fell to the ground dead in a pool of its own blood.  The team stepped over it and glanced at it.  The team each held their hands over their hearts.

"He may have been the enemy, but he died doing his job.  Now bury his money, we aren't going to allow anyone to plunder his possessions," said Shabunga.  A guard took the BribeClaw's money and pulled out a small UVCAF issued shovel and quickly buried the money.

"Let's move, we've wasted enough time already," said Shabunga.  The team filed out of the cave and was walking towards the hot springs when they quickly leapt out of the way as they practically stumbled into a SnowHorn meeting.

"Eliminate?" asked the lead soldier.  Shabunga immediately shook his head.

"No, they'd be on us in a minute.  We'll have to find some way around them," he said.  The soldier took out a pair of binoculars and observed the meeting.  A group of SnowHorns stood surrounding an EarthWalker.

"They're coming this way.  The King believes that Shabunga is nothing more than a traitor and our new visitors are **not** who they say they are.  They need to be captured and incarcerated immediately!" said the EarthWalker.  The SnowHorns nodded in assent, but Shabunga was more worried about how they would get past.

"There's no way we can get through.  We need a distraction!" he said.  Unfortunately the distraction he got was not the one he would've preferred.  A couple minutes later a whine was heard and three Arwings rocketed by overhead towards ThornTail Hollow.

"Quick, after them!" shouted the EarthWalker and the creatures quickly departed.  The team emerged into the snow covered clearing that the dinos had vacated.  The each looked at the jetstream left behind by the Arwings and followed the path towards the Hollow.

"Sir, we have to help them!" said the team leader as the whining subsided.  Shabunga shook his head.

"No, we can't.  I'd like to help them too, but we have explicit orders to be at Fallback Position One.  The UVCAF is expecting us to be there and if we're not we could be caught in the initial invasion and die.  We've to go.  The Starfox team has been in more binds then we can imagine, they'll get out of this," said Shabunga.  As he finished talking, the EarthWalker reappeared with two SnowHorns.

"I knew they came this way!  The dead BribeClaw proved it and there they are!  Get them!" shouted the EarthWalker charging the team.

"Run!" shouted Shabunga as he took off.

ThornTail Hollow Airspace: "This is so bizarre, we can't contact Scales or Shabunga.  And what was the deal behind that mushroom cloud?  Scales wasn't supposed to attack Dragon Rock for another five days.  This is just nuts!" said Andrew.

"Clearly we're either outside of the loop or Scales got a little overzealous," said Leon.

"It wouldn't be the first time, remember Altair-7?" asked Fox.  The other murmured their agreement when they saw the smoke rising from the Hollow.

"Oh no," said Andrew.  The three Arwings burst over a ridge and made circled around the Hollow as several LightFoot troops stood in ranks and watched them near the smoking well where the repair bay had been.  Also, Shabunga's store was being ripped in half as various creatures were tossing out items that had been in his store after being ripped in half.  The King EarthWalker was watching them with an indistinguishable snarl on his face due to the distance between them.

"Options?" asked Fox.

"Hit the afterburners and make our way back to UVCAF space," said Leon.

"Yeah, but that's a three week trip and I don't know if our rations or our ships will hold out that long.  But I'll hold it in reserve.  Andrew?" asked Fox.

"Find a place to hole up before the invasion fleet arrives," he said.

"Yeah, but then they'd know something was up and prep for an invasion.  Even with Dragon Rock gone, we don't know what other weapons or allies they might possess.  Against my better judgment, we're landing and will try to reason things out," said Fox.

"Sir I must lodge my protest against this course of action," said Leon.

"I do too.  UVCAF regulations state…" began Andrew.

"UVCAF regulations state that our lives are expendable no matter what our rank is.  The only person who isn't expendable is the Emperor and our lives are to be given to him in service.  If he comes here and the invasion is still happening because we didn't convince the dinos that one wasn't coming, we'd have failed the UVCAF and I for one will not allow that," said Fox.  Leon and Andrew gave their acknowledgment that this was the only course of action available to them and they cut into their repulsors and landed in the Hollow.

Hot Springs: Shabunga and the team raced amongst the hot springs and geysers as they went off all around them sending scalding hot water into the air.  Behind them the EarthWalker and SnowHorns were still pursuing them.

"Where's that transport?" asked the soldier firing his gun behind them.  The EarthWalker and SnowHorns easily absorbed the blaster fire.

"It should be right up ahead.  How much time?" asked Shabunga.

"Less than fifteen minutes.  Any second now that fleet is going emerge from warp above this planet and begin launching ships," said the team leader.  The team ran between two geysers but was suddenly cut off from escape by the EarthWalker at the front and the SnowHorns at the back.

"By order of the King EarthWalker, Shabunga you are under arrest for treason!" said the EarthWalker.  Shabunga didn't dignify that accusation with a response he merely lifted his blaster and aimed it at the dinosaur along with the others who aimed it at either the EarthWalker or the SnowHorns.

"Heh, your blaster fire doesn't frighten me!" laughed the dinosaur.

"No, but this might!" said Shabunga.  He yanked out a small rod and depressed a button.  A flash was seen and the EarthWalker vanished.  Shabunga spun around to face the two SnowHorns who were unsure as to what had happened.

"Leave us or face a similar fate!" shouted Shabunga over the geysers.  The two SnowHorns looked at each other nervously and then bolted without a word.

"What just happened here?" asked a soldier.  Shabunga pointed to the far wall that was covered in moss.  A small red light was seen nestled between some vines.  Shabunga pressed another button the rod and the mass of vines and moss began blurring until they vanished revealing an UVCAF military hovertransport.

"Equipped with a state of the art holoprojector system, that dino failed to notice the laser cannon aimed right at him.  Now come on!  We've got to go now!  The invasion is about to begin!" shouted Shabunga.  The team quickly entered into the transport and it blasted off up Ice Mountain towards the peak.

Space above Dinosaur Planet: Fifteen UVCAF battlecruisers of various makes and models emerged from warp above the planet and began launching dropships and fighters as they surrounded the planet.  The lead ship the Saruzin class _Mantia 01_ began slowly descending towards the planet's surface.

ThornTail Hollow: Unaware of the fleet above them, the Starfox team landed in the Hollow facing the smoking remains of the well.  The team exited their fighters and walked towards the approaching King EarthWalker and his troops.

"Hey King, what's up with the well?" asked Fox.  The King said nothing and the LightFoot's moved in and restrained the team.

"King, this is uncalled for?  What have we done?" asked Fox not resisting his captors.

"You've lied to us from the start.  You're not who you appear to be and with the destruction of the well and the loss of Dragon Rock I'm going to have you incarcerated for a very long time," said the King.  Now Fox began slightly struggling.

"I came to this planet with the hopes of establishing a VRF base and this is how you repay me?  We want to protect you from the UVCAF forces!" shouted Fox.

"Save your lies for someone who'll believe them.  Guards, let's go!" said the King.  As Fox and Co. were being lead to a prison cart nearby, the ground started rumbling.

"A quake?" asked a soldier.

"Impossible!  There haven't been any for millennia!" said the King as the ground continued rumbling and nearby trees and poles fell over.  Then a large shadow fell on the group and they looked up to see the massive Saruzin Class Cruiser descending towards the ground.  The guards immediately let go of the guards and surrounded the King with their staffs.

"What is the meaning of this?" demanded the King.  The massive vessel landed in the Hollow and slowly powered down.  The guards and the King shifted uneasily at the massive amounts of laser cannons and other armaments that the vessel possessed.  A large ramp opened between the two wedges on the front of the ship and touched the ground in front of them.

"_Mantia 01_, what's that?  What does that have to do with us?" demanded the King.

"It means," said a voice. "That the balance of power has shifted.  The UVCAF has arrived and your world is now mine!"

The UVCAF Emperor Andross emerged from the shadows with his bodyguards as various ground and mobile units emerged from the ship and trundled down the ramp and began opening fire at everything in sight.

"Who are you?" asked the King.  Andross smiled.

"My name is Andross, I'm Emperor of the Lylat System.  And I'll be the last face you'll ever see!" said Andross with a smile.  Andross signaled and one of his bodyguards fired his blaster cannon at the King and he was instantly vaporized along with his guards.

"Come Fox, we have much to discuss.  This world is in our grasp and I don't intend to loose it," said Andross as he re-entered the craft with the team following behind him.


	4. The Invasion

UVCAF Saruzin-Class Battlecruiser, _The Mantia 01_: The Starfox team entered into the front of the cruiser amidst the two forward prongs along with Andross.  As they entered, a group of landmasters and a huge Granga moved by and into ThornTail Hollow.  All over the massive bay in the ship, technicians were prepping everything from Garudas to Invaders to Tripods, many of which were leaving the bay at the same time.  In the distance, explosions could be heard along with laser fire.  Andross led them into a soundproof side room overlooking the bay with a large piece of glass on one side allowing them to see the bustling bay.  As Andross closed the door, the team's Arwings could clearly be seen being hauled into the bay.  As the team was all seated, Fox finally spoke up.

"Sir, what are you doing here this early?  We weren't expecting you for another five and half days,"

"Yes well, plans change.  You know that better than most people," said Andross.

"Yeah, but how come Scales was in on it?  He was supposed to attack Dragon Rock after conferring with us but he didn't.  He luckily attacked right before you showed up, how coincidental," said Fox.

"Fox, I couldn't get a hold of you to inform you of the change.  Besides, by assuming the invasion was in a week, you wouldn't be rushed to get your information and the dinos wouldn't become suspicious of anything.  Besides, that's all you were doing; Scales was in charge of taking out Dragon Rock, a much more important priority.  Speaking of which, where is he?" asked Andross.

"We don't know.  We haven't had any contact with him that's the point," said Fox somewhat icily.  Andross shot him a warning glance.

"Where's Shabunga?" asked Leon.

Ice Mountain: The UVCAF transport roared up the mountain as laser blasts tore up the area all around them from the fleet in orbit pounding the planet.  Inside the transport, everyone was silent in order to divert the driver's attention as little as possible.

"We're coming up on the base, get ready to open the main entrance!" shouted the pilot as the whole transport shook from a nearby blast.  The transport roared up the final stretch of the slope and smashed it's way through a wooden fence before going airborne and arcing towards the base entrance on the side of the cliff (this base is the same as the one you enter to first find Tricky who takes off and you pursue him in the jetbike).

"Open it now!" shouted the pilot.  Shabunga pulled out a remote and pressed a button, opening the base entrance.  The transport continued it's aerial flight as explosions ripped all around it before smashing into the base as the door slid shut behind them.  Inside the base, everyone breathed a collective sigh of relief even as muffled blasts were heard; the base had been built out of reinforced space titanium and could withstand just about any punishment the fleet could dish out in a bombardment situation.  The team piled out of their ruined transport and walked through the chilly air to the heated office nearby.  The technicians sat about powering up various consoles while the soldiers began stowing weapons and taking inventory.  A couple minutes later a technician walked into the office after having examined the transport.

"How is it?" asked Shabunga.  The technician grimaced.

"It's shot to hell.  The repulsors are dead, the weaponry is gone, and the armor just about gone.  It's a mess," said the technician.

"Can you fix it?" asked Shabunga crossing his arms.  The technician sighed and did some figures in his head.

"Twelve hours, _minimum_," said the technician.  Shabunga crossed his arms again.

"You have eight hours, _maximum_," he said.  The technician quickly calculated more numbers in his head before sighing.

"Shit," he said before walking off and grabbing a couple other technicians and soldiers.  Shabunga sighed.

"Is the communications center online yet?" he asked.  Another technician nodded from a wall covered with circuitry.

"Feed is 89.5% clean.  There'll be a little distortion, but nothing too bad.  Unfortunately the antenna was partially damaged by the fleet and there's no way to fix it," said the technician.  Shabunga nodded and walked into the communications center.  He pressed a few buttons and waited for the unit to power up so he could contact the fleet.

_The Mantia 01_: An aide walked into the conference room and whispered something in Andross's ear who nodded and pressed a button on the table in front of him.  Instantly an image of Shabunga appeared in a chair across the table, but it occasionally blurred out of perspective before becoming clear again.

"I apologize for the appearance of this transmission Emperor, but the antenna was damaged during the bombardment and this is the best we can do," said Shabunga.

"Understandable.  Are you at Fallback Position One?" asked Andross.  Shabunga nodded.

"Yes sir," he said.

"Good, I've read Shabunga's reports and am fairly well acquainted with this planet's infrastructure.  Fox, do you have anything to add?" asked Andross.

"Technology is minimal, resources are minimal.  There are some gold deposits scattered throughout and a gold repository at CloudRunner Fortress, but barely enough to warrant an invasion.  I'll ask again, why are we here?" said Fox.

"Any immediate threats?" asked Andross ignoring Fox's comments.

"Well there's the CloudRunner's who can fire charged particles," said Fox visibly annoyed. "And a group of apes who inhabit an island in the ocean outside of Cape Claw.  That's about it."

"I see.  I'll let Commander Bill Grey and his squadrons take care of our flying pests.  Fox, I want you and your team to report to Cape Claw.  There you will be prepped to take out the simians on that island in the ocean.  If they'll surrender fine, if not oh well," said Andross.

"We're not diplomats we're mercenaries," said Fox.

"You're a part of the UVCAF forces.  And you're right, you're not diplomats.  That's why I've brought in a diplomat from the Lylat System.  I believe you've already met Ambassador Dan of Zoness," said Andross as he pressed a button.  A door opened into the room and a velociraptor entered into the room and sat down.

"Emperor, Starfox team," said Dan.  Fox nodded.

"Yes, he helped us negotiate the surrender of Cestpus-8," said Fox.

"And hopefully he'll be able to do so again with the Kongs," said Andross.  Fox snorted.

"Yeah, right.  His presence will probably enflame them to…oh," said Fox suddenly realizing Dan's purpose on this mission.

"And they'll attack you leaving us no choice but to wipe them out.  Exactly," completed Andross.

"Figures," said Leon.

"Anyway, you're to report to Cape Claw ASAP.  There's a battalion already prepping to invade the cape in fifteen minutes, you'll join them in your Arwings.  Once that's done you'll receive further instructions," said Andross.

"Is Hammer going to show up at all?" asked Fox.  Andross nodded.

"Like I said at the beginning, he and the seventh fleet will arrive at the end of the week.  Now then, if that's all the business to attend to, we all have our duties," said Andross getting ready to leave.  Fox was about to ask again about why they were here, but Andross cut him off with a sigh as he was leaving the room.

"Fox, we are here for a legitimate reason, believe me," said Andross with his back to the door. "But if this reason actually winds up panning out, then God save us all.  I'm hoping it doesn't pan out, that's why I haven't said anything.  If I have anything definitive when you get back I'll let you know."

With that, Andross left the room and went into the bay.  Fox drummed his fingers on the table a few times before sighing and crossing his arms.

"Well I guess that answers your question," said Andrew.

"Yeah, except it leaves me with even more.  C'mon let's go.  I want to get this over with," said Fox.  He and the team piled out along with Dan and into the bay.

Cape Claw: The dinosaurs there were hurriedly trying to prep rafts and boats to escape the mainland while others were attempting to set up a defensive perimeter to give the others time.

"We'll not survive this!  The end has come!" shouted a dinosaur.

"Be quiet, the krazoa spirits will protect us!" shouted another.

"Oh shut up, they can't help us now!  Keep working!" shouted yet another dinosaur.  As they were prepping the rafts, a loud whine was heard.  The dinosaurs watched in horror as dozens of missiles and laser fire reigned down from above as two Harlock Cruisers cleared a ridge facing the cape and fired their payloads.  Then a mass of fighters soared overhead mowing down countless creatures on the ground.  Within seconds it was all over, the pristine beach was now full of craters and the stink of the dead.  The Starfox team roared overhead and observed the scene while the Harlock's landed and began dispersing troops.

"Looks like total fatalities," said Fox.  Then their sensors began beeping.

"Hold up, let's like we've got a raft launch," said Leon.

"Let's take it out then!" shouted Andrew.  The Arwings zoomed out into the open ocean and quickly located a bamboo raft being desperately paddled by a group of dinosaurs.

"They're working so hard, let's give them a special death," said Fox.  He toggled the smart bomb launcher and fired a shot at the raft.  The raft quickly vaporized in the ensuing explosion.

"Let's head back to the cape and get this task over with," Fox said as the three Arwings returned to Cape Claw.

DK Island: The Kongs stood on the beach and watched solemnly as explosions ripped up Cape Claw.

"Looks like the invasion has started," said Funky.

"That it has, that it has.  Well, it had to happen sometime.  What do we know about them?" asked Cranky.

"All we know is that they're called the UVCAF forces.  We don't know where they're from or what their intentions are although it's not hard to guess that latter.  It looks like we'll tough battle ahead," said DK.  Cranky nodded.

"No I suppose not.  But we'll put up a good fight and get them to think twice about us at least.  We'd better prepare for an air assault.  Prepare all barrel fighters and arm them with what few laser cannons we have.  Coconut guns aren't going to do the trick this time against molecular shielding, but we'd better make sure every fighter has at least some armament.  Let's head to the command center, this UVCAF is going to find trouble when it encounters the URVAC forces of DK Island," said Cranky as they all left the beach.

Cape Claw: The soldiers were setting up a defensive perimeter when the three Arwings landed on the beach.

"Commander, what's the situation?" asked Fox to a commander directing some troops.

"The beach is 100% secure.  We're already prepping to enter the Ocean Force Point Temple," said the commander.

"Good, what's our task?" asked Fox.  The commander pointed to a submarine being carted out of a Harlock by a Garuda.

"You are to take the experimental Blue Marine submarine attack craft and use the ocean to sneak into that island.  Our sensors are already picking up defensive weaponry on the island and we need you to sneak in and take them out while Ambassador Dan is negotiating so we can begin an aerial assault on the island," said the commander.

"Good, works for me.  Let's move team," said Fox.  The Starfox team along with Dan piled into the Blue Marine as the Garuda pushed it into the water.  Fox quickly lit up the board and pushed the accelerator forward as the craft dove into the ocean.

"Okay Leon you've got weapons, Andrew you've got sonar duties.  Dan, listen in on any external sounds and either from your own knowledge or sounds in the sub's database, identify any that might be hostile," said Fox.  Affirmations came from the other members of the team.

All right, let's take it to these Kongs," said Fox as he hit the external lights and the sub plunged into the darkness.

CloudRunner Fortress: The CloudRunner's were quickly mounting whatever weaponry they could onto the dock overlooking the clouds beyond.

"Quickly!  Quickly!" shouted the BoneClaw.  The Queen CloudRunner immediately landed by him.

"What's the news from the front?" she demanded.  The BoneClaw sighed.

"The Queen and King EarthWalker are dead, Tricky is presumed missing.  But as for our own problems, what scouts we have that are returning indicate one hundred and twenty little hostiles and three larger hostiles.  We outnumber them three to one, but the way they fight, it's almost like they have us outnumbered two to one.  It's not good," said the BoneClaw.

"With the weaponry we're installing, we should be able to even those odds a little.  God, how could we have been so stupid!" shouted the Queen.

"They tricked us all your majesty, they tricked us all," said the BoneClaw.  The Queen nodded and returned to her throne.  The BoneClaw sighed and continued ordering around the troops while in the distance a distant whine was heard and little lights flickered in the distance.

UVCAF DPAF1(Dinosaur Planet Attack Force 1): One hundred and twenty fighters and three attack carriers soared through the sky on the way to CloudRunner Fortress.  More laser fire erupted from part of the squadron and another fireball erupted.

"How many scouts does that make?" asked Commander Bill Grey.

"15," said Sanders.

"How many have gotten away?" asked Bill.

"Three.  Sorry commander," said Sanders.

"No that's okay, better that they fear our arrival then are oblivious to us.  I like a little fear in the mid-morning.  Anyway, what's our ETA," said Bill.

"Five minutes," said Jimmy commanding one of the attack carriers.

"Gentlemen, prepare for battle.  You know your squadrons so in three minutes break into them and…" began Bill before his sensors began beeping.  Hundreds of hostiles had taken to the air and were rapidly approaching the fleet.

"Change of plans, break into squadrons now.  Attack Carriers, open up with a first wave of missiles.  Once the missiles are gone, all fighters prepare to launch one plasma bomb each.  Let's show these dinos how we do things UVCAF style!" shouted Bill.  As he spoke that, dozens of missiles roared out of the attack carriers towards the incoming hostiles.  They exploded and were promptly followed by the explosions of two hundred plasma bombs.  Several hundred CloudRunner's died, but more poured through the explosions eager for blood and the battle was joined.

ThornTail Hollow: Andross was currently inside of Shabunga's store as several technicians installed tactical monitors in the store lobby.  Andross was busy mapping out attack plans for the remaining troops that had yet to pile out of the landing ships.

"Report," said Andross.  An aide quickly ran up to him.

"Sir, Cape Claw reports successful taking of the beach.  The Blue Marine has launched without incident and the troops are currently filing into Ocean Force Point Temple, but it appears to be abandoned.  DPAF1 reports contact with the enemy, but says future reports will be infrequent based on the fighting conditions.  Other forces are spreading themselves out per your orders.  So far the invasion is operating with 98% accuracy rating," said the aide.  Andross nodded.

"Very well.  Here are the latest plans for DPAF11-15.  Now as for the other report," said Andross holding out his hand.  The aide handed him a Palm Pilot.

"Good, now leave me alone," said Andross.  The aide saluted and left as Andross turned on the palm.

"_Now, let's see if I can't learn more about the Krazoa Spirits, and the five visitors from the stars_," he thought.

Ocean: The Blue Marine tore through the water on it's way to Kong Island.  Inside the tone was hushed as each was monitoring their stations carefully to avoid any dangers on the way to the island.

"So tell me Dan, what do you think of Dinosaur Planet so far?" asked Fox.  Dan shrugged.

"It's a planet like any other.  My ancestors left this planet long ago when the inhabitants of this planet chose to turn their backs on technology.  Luckily we found Zoness to inhabit and it was a much more suitable homeworld than this planet.  While it is true that we hold Dinosaur Planet in a small place in our hearts, my people don't long to return here.  Anyway, I can see we were justified in leaving; these dinosaurs are weak and are easily conquered.  I just want to get this done with so I can return home," said Dan.

"Well I can respect that," said Fox.  Then alarms began blaring all over the sub.

"What's happening?" asked Leon.

"We've got two bogeys approaching fast!  They just appeared out of nowhere!" shouted Andrew.

"What are they?" asked Fox.  Dan flipped a switch and a strange moaning sound was heard over the speakers.

"The hell is that?" demanded Leon.

"They're plesiosaurs!  Quick Fox, evasive maneuvers!" shouted Dan.  Fox slammed on the accelerator and quickly barrel rolled, barely avoiding the plesiosaurs, which snapped at the sub.

"Leon, arm all weapons.  I'm going to try and line 'em up," said Fox.  He slammed the accelerator and roared after the two dinosaurs.  A beeping noise was heard as the torpedoes locked on, which was then followed by a clicking noise as the torpedoes locked on.

"They're away!" shouted Leon.  Fox yanked back on the wheel and the Blue Marine zoomed up and away as the two torpedoes made impact and exploded, vaporizing the plesiosaurs.

DK Island: The Kongs were managing Kremkroc Industries when two large explosions were heard.  They ran to the ocean and watched two large fountains of water erupt out of the ocean before they water became red.

"What was that?" Diddy asked, a little afraid.

"I don't know, but we'd better hurry.  Something's coming and it doesn't look friendly," said Funky.  Down in the bays, barrel fighters and other weapons were being hastily constructed to counter the incoming threat.

CloudRunner Fortress: "Incoming!" shouted the BoneClaw as a CloudRunner on fire crashed into the center plaza.  Laser fire and charged projectiles were lighting up the sky above as fighters clashed with dinosaurs.  On the plaza, the weapons that had been mounted on the ground were busy keeping the Attack Carriers from landing and releasing troops.

"Unless we can land, there's no way we can win this any time soon!" shouted Jimmy as the carrier rocked back and forth.

"I know, I know, but what?  We can't divert our attention between both the ground and the sky!" shouted Bill.  At the Generator Room, the lone BoneClaw was contemplating an important decision for his future.  Finally he made up his mind and set the timer on the device Fox had left behind in the generator room; the BoneClaw had seen it fall but chose not to remove it.  The BoneClaw tore from the room as the blast went off and silenced all of the power in CloudRunner Fortress.  In the sky, the UVCAF forces noted the abrupt halt of all fire from the ground.

"It's a trick, it has to be!" said Sanders.  Bill took a sweeping glance over the courtyard.

"If it's a trick it's a dumb one.  Attack Carriers, land now!" shouted Bill as he pulled his ship into a tight arc avoiding several dinos.  The three Attack Carriers, all heavily damaged, hovered near the rooftops and began releasing troops.

"Bulldog Unit, cover carriers one and two.  Husky Unit cover number three!" shouted Bill.  Fifty fighters broke off and began doing sweeps over the carriers picking off CloudRunners attacking the carriers.

"Attack Carriers empty, pulling away!" shouted Jimmy.  The three carriers took off, but one got a kamikaze attack by a CloudRunner and exploded raining shrapnel everywhere.

"Carriers one and three pull out.  Come back when things are cleaned up here!" shouted Bill.

"Roger that, pulling out," said Jimmy.  The two remaining attack carriers pulled up and away from CloudRunner Fortress.

"Report!" shouted Bill.

"We've got about seventy five fighters left and they're down to one hundred dinos," said Sanders.

"All right let's make a net and ensnare the remaining dinos.  I want them all dead in less than an hour," said Bill.  The seventy five fighters blasted away and formed a tightly knit circle around the remaining CloudRunners.  Laser blasts erupted and forty-five minutes later, the CloudRunners were dead.

"Husky and Bulldog Units, do recon flights over the surrounding area and wipe out any resistance you come across then take off.  Pitdog Unit, prepare to land; I'll be going down with you," said Bill.

"What about us Bill?" asked Jimmy.  Bill looked up at the sky where the two Attack Carriers were barely visible amongst the clouds.

"Give me a rundown of all vital statistics," he said.

"Missiles launchers A&B are depleted on Carrier 1 and my carrier has fifty missiles on A but B was blasted completely off during the fighting.  Fuel wise I'm done to 15% fuel left while Carrier 2 is at 30%.  Fighter reserves are gone on both ships," said Jimmy.

"Alright get the hell out of here.  Refuel, do what repairs you can, and come back at 1900 hours.  If we need you before then we'll call," said Bill.  "Oh, and see if you can't a refueling carrier up here, I don't want to be stuck up here with twenty fighters and no fuel.  This place isn't very defensible because it's so high up and we're basically sitting ducks up here," said Bill.

"Check, got it.  Let's pull out!" shouted Jimmy.  The two Attack Carriers moved low over the temple before flying off into the distance.

"Husky Unit, accompany them out of here.  Bulldog unit, you've got twenty minutes and then out," said Bill.  After receiving confirmation of their orders, Bill maneuvered his fighter on a landing vector along with Sanders and they both set down at the bazaar while various troops ran about the fortress.  Bill and Sanders quickly powered down their craft and approached the colonel in charge.  The colonel was currently interrogating a BoneClaw who was being held in place by shackles as well as being gagged.

"Colonel, what's up?" asked Bill.  The Colonel looked at Bill with a bemused look.

"Oh not much.  It's just that this dino claims he activated an EMP device that shut down the external weaponry at the fortress," said the colonel.

"And did he?" asked Sanders bemused as well.  The colonel shrugged.

"It's possible, we did find the remains of an UVCAF issue EMP wave generator in the generator room.  Chances are Fox left it there on his tour," said the colonel.

"And as for the dino himself?" asked Bill.

"His motives seem legit.  He also appears to know quite a bit about the UVCAF as well," said the colonel.  Bill nodded and considered his options.

"Alright let him loose.  I'll deal with this myself," said Bill.  The colonel nodded and undid all the shackles before leaving with two other troops.  The BoneClaw coughed a couple times before straightening himself up.  Bill handed him a glass of water.

"Sorry for the treatment, but we're in unfamiliar territory and in the process of an invasion so everyone must be considered a threat for now," said Bill.  The BoneClaw nodded.

"I understand, that's typical UVCAF procedure.  You're Commander Grey right?" asked the BoneClaw.  Bill nodded somewhat impressed.

"Good, you know some stuff about the UVCAF.  Now here's something else you should know: we don't accept traitors into the ranks of the UVCAF.  If you were a traitor to one group, you could easily be one again.  You're a security risk and we cannot accept that," said Bill.  The BoneClaw nodded.

"Yes I understand that.  But I'm not a traitor I'm a slave revolting against his oppressive masters.  Now you should know that there is a provision in the UVCAF manifesto that accommodates that," said the BoneClaw.  Bill sighed and nodded.

"Yes it does.  But who'll vouch for you?  Remember, this individual must have known you prior to the invasion and will agree that you were a slave," said Bill.

"Fox McCloud will vouch for me.  If not him then Shabunga because I have a feeling that he's an UVCAF agent you implanted here years ago.  Those are my vouchers," said the BoneClaw.

"Well unfortunately they're both detained so it'll be awhile before we can get that voucher.  In the meantime, we'll use you.  Where's the Queen?" said Bill.  The BoneClaw nodded and pointed his head towards a doorway.

"This way," he said leading them down a hallway.

"So, you know my name, what's yours?" Bill said.

"Jeff," responded the BoneClaw.  Bill nodded and continued walking down the hallways where the soldiers were turning the place inside out and removing anything of value.

"Have your soldiers already discovered the vault yet?" asked Jeff.  Bill nodded.  As he was walking down the hallway, a soldier handed him a datapad.

"Damn," said Bill.

"What?" asked Sanders.  Bill sighed.

"We're not going to get a fuel carrier up here for at least three hours and we've got forty-five minutes of fuel left in the fighters.  Even with conservation we're screwed if we fall under attack.  Damnit, now what're we going to do?" cursed Bill.  Jeff stopped and thought about that problem for a moment.

"Down in the basement we've got fuel for the jetbikes.  We stockpile the fuel yearly and we got our last shipment three months ago.  I've been the only one so far to use a jetbike and even though for a couple trips to the local villa about five miles from here so we should still have plenty of fuel.  Whether or not it's compatible with your fighters I don't know, but it's an option," said Jeff.  Bill nodded.

"Corporal, Sanders, check it out," said Bill.  Sanders and the corporal nodded and left down another hallway.  Finally, Bill and Jeff reached a pair of heavy wooden doors.

"Now the Queen should be right beyond these doors," said Jeff looking around. "Shouldn't there be more troops?"

"No, I can handle this on my own," said Bill pulling out his blaster rifle and flicking off the trigger.

"It's your call, but the Queen can be very vicious when cornered," said Jeff.  Bill shrugged.

"I can guarantee you I won't lift a finger," said Bill putting his blaster away.  Jeff looked at him incredulously.

"How are you planning on beating her with?  Foul language?" asked Jeff laughing.  Bill crossed his arms.

"No, faith," he said dead serious.

"Are you joking?" demanded Jeff.

"I never joke about my work.  Now open that door," said Bill.  Jeff shrugged.

"It's your call," he said.  Jeff pushed open the door and the darkness stared at them.  Then a shuffling was heard and the Queen CloudRunner fell to the floor unconscious in front of them bound and gagged.

"What the?" began Jeff.  Then several floodlights came on and several figures moved out of the shadows and into plain sight.  A whole unit of UVCAF commandos stepped forward.

"Commander.  We were just finishing up here," said the team leader. "Team, move out!"

The team subsequently exited, hauling the Queen out of the room.  As Jeff watched them haul her out of there he turned to Bill suspiciously.

"You knew they were here!" he said.  Bill shrugged.

"I had an inkling," he said leaving the room as well, following the team down to the dungeon.  The team hauled the Queen to a cell and tossed her inside like a sack of potatoes.

"So what now?" asked Jeff.  Bill turned to face Jeff, as the cell door was swung shut.

"You will prove your loyalty by showing the sergeant and his commando team to this village down on jetbikes.  Once you mop up there you will return.  Move out," said Bill pointing down the hallway.  Jeff nodded and left the commandos.  On the way they passed Sanders who was walking down the hallway.

"Okay we checked the fuel and it'll work for our fighters," said Sanders.  Bill nodded.

"Good, once Jeff and the commandos take off, divide the fuel among the fighters.  Everyone gets the same amount, that's UVCAF policy and I wouldn't have it any other way," said Bill.  He stood there contemplating a couple things only to notice Sanders hadn't moved.

"What?" Bill demanded.  Sanders sighed deeply.

"Sir, I don't know how to tell you this, yes the fuel will work for our fighters.  That's not the problem.  The problem is the fuel is identical to our fighter's fuel," said Sanders.  Bill whirled to face him.

"What do you mean identical?" he demanded.  Sanders handed him a datapad, which Bill took and rifled through the info.

"Fuel mix ration, the liquid used to make the fuel, its all 100% identical to our own.  Granted the quality is a little bit less due to crude refining processes, but that's it.  Now that cannot be possible.  We've encountered a number of other worlds and none of them have used a fuel refining process identical to our own.  Something stinks here commander and it's not the gas," said Sanders.  Bill fell down in a daze on top of a chair along the wall.

"And how long have they been refining this…fuel?" asked Bill after a long period of silence.

"According to the locals…thirty-nine years, right after some visitors from the stars came having fled their own solar system," said Sanders.  This time his eyes went wide open and he threw his padd on the ground and collapsed on the bench opposite Bill and began muttering incoherently.

"It can't be possible can it?" asked Sanders.  Bill weakly shook his head.

"No, it's a coincidence, nothing less.  That's all!" said Bill standing up quickly only for the blood to rush to his head and stumble slightly.

"Bill I think we might have to accept the fact that he might still be alive," said Sanders.  Bill pointed his finger at Sanders.

"That's enough blasphemy out of you!  Any more and I'll have you arrested for contempt!  That's pure speculation nothing more.  Our society exists based on the fact that he is dead and I won't have you causing panic!" shouted Bill.  Sanders held up his hands in defeat.

"I know, I know.  Shit!  So what do we do now?" asked Sanders.  Bill straightened his pilot's suit.

"_We_ do nothing at the moment.  I want these files regarding the fuel erased.  Does the fuel work for our fighters, yes, but it's not 100% identical to our own.  In the meantime we'll continue our mission.  Once that's over we'll contact Andross and see what's up.  Sanders, it's probably a lot less than we're making it out to be.  The worse case scenario is that it's his followers.  But he's dead.  Andross _killed_ him, that's a fact.  Now move out," said Bill.  Sanders nodded with great relief.

"Yes, it's his followers nothing more.  They're powerless yes.  Thanks commander!" shouted Sanders running off to erase all files regarding the fuel.

"Oh lord what have we gotten ourselves into this time?" asked Bill.

ThornTail Hollow: A Landmaster rolled forward to a halt.  On top was a Great White Shark.  He turned to his troops.

"Well my friends we've been given a glorious task!  To conquer the Walled City!  They will fall by our hammer, our red hammer!  Onward my invincible Red Hammer forces, onward!" shouted Anklor pointing his sword towards the horizon as the Landmaster bucked off followed by fifteen troops and five other assault vehicles and an APC.  Up in the booth, Andross watched down laughing.

"_That idiot is just going to get himself killed!_" he decided.  Andross turned around to his notes   He scribbled a couple things down on a sheet of paper when his comm. system beeped.

"Emperor, we've finally found information on the leader of the kongs," said the voice on the other end.

"And who is it?" demanded Andross.  The voice was silent for a moment before speaking.

"…According to the information we've obtained from the SnowHorn Belinda Te, the leader is one Cranky Kong," said the voice a little shakily.  Andross dropped the padd on the table as his eyes went wide.  But he quickly fought off his surprise and returned his attention to the voice.

"Thank you lieutenant," said Andross.  He moved to shut off the system when the voice spoke again.

"Sir, is there any chance…"

"No!  No.  It's a coincidence nothing more.  On Auriga Minor we encountered a group of simians also named the Kongs and they had no relation to those that lived in the Lylat System.  That'll be all lieutenant," said Andross.

"Yes, sir.  Thank you sir," said the voice as the transmission shut off.  Andross sighed and rested his head on the table.

"_Shit!  There are too many clues all over the place.  I should have known better than to have a full invasion.  This has gone on long enough, I need to tell the truth now or risk loosing control of this operation_," Andross thought before reaching for the control panel. "Deck Officer?"

"Yes Emperor?" came the response.

"I want my personal ship prepared for immediate launch," said Andross.

"Yes sir," came the response and the transmission ended.  Andross quickly grabbed his jacket and the data padd and ran out the door headed for the bay.

DK Island: Off the coast of DK Island, the water bubbled fiercely before the Blue Marine tore through the surface and rested on top of the water.  Fox popped the hatch and he stepped onto the top of the sub along with the rest of the team.

"Okay here's how we're going to play it.  Leon, and I are getting off now with the Shogun Robot in the back and swimming to the island.  Dan, you'll continue on to the island and drive onto the surface using the deployable treads.  Drive onto the beach and wait there until the Kongs approach.  If they open fire, drive back into the water and head straight back to Cape Claw.  If they appear, stall for a few hours and then exit with Andrew and greet them.  Again, stalling is the key here we have to get access to the industrial area on the top of the mountain and sabotage it.  Now hopefully you can talk with them for a while and learn more about them.  If things go sour or the industrial complex explodes, whichever comes first, bug out immediately.  Take the Blue Marine and get the hell out of here, Leon and I will hold out here until the attack and meet up with the UVCAF here.  Everyone got that?" asked Fox.  Affirmations came from all members. "Alright let's move and let's show the Kongs some UVCAF hospitality!"

And with that, Fox, Leon, and the Shogun Warrior slipped off into the water and made their way to the beach while Dan and Andrew re-entered the sub and headed off for the island.


	5. Attacking Kong Isle, Enter the Kongs

DK Island: The Kongs were in Cranky's Cabin at Kongo Jungle eating while deciding what to do when several explosions were heard.  The Kongs ran out onto the beach and witnessed several fountains of water erupting from the surface of the water.

"Looks like it's about to start.  Are you sure there are no other forces incoming?" asked DK.  Cranky shook his head.

"Based on our primitive radar, there are no fighters approaching.  And our sonar reports only that one sub.  It must be an envoy of some sort," said Cranky.

"If it's not, we're in trouble," said DK.  Cranky turned to face him.

"But if it is then we'd be in trouble by destroying them," he said.  DK nodded.

"Yeah, but if this mines off them then we're doomed anyway," said DK.  Cranky shook his head.

"No, the mines aren't our fault they've been there for years.  It's the captain's fault for steering into a minefield," said Cranky.

"They could still use that against us," said Diddy.  Cranky nodded.

"Yes, hence why we've been prepping for an invasion.  Now come, let's meet our guests," said Cranky as the Blue Marine tore through the surface of the water and crawled onto the beach with it's deployable treads.  It moved onto the center of the beach and stopped.  Inside, Dan and Andrew sat watching the Kongs slowly approach.

"And now we wait," said Dan reclining the chair and twiddling his fingers.

Five miles down the beach: Fox, Leon, and the Shogun Warrior emerged from the water and ran for the trees where Fox and Leon get out of their wetsuits with their combat uniforms underneath.  Fox quickly glanced at his chronometer as Leon checked all the weapons and the Shogun Warrior's circuitry.

"We've got four hours to get up that mountain and plant the explosives.  Let's move!" Fox said, quickly moving into the jungle.

"Sir, would it not make more easier for me to fly up to the industrial complex and take it out now?" asked the Shogun.

"Yes but we can't have the risk of you being spotted.  I think a flying robot might stand out on this mostly primitive island," said Fox continuing to move on through the jungle.

"Fox?" Dan asked after awhile over the comlink.  Fox held up his hand for the group to stop.

"Yeah?"

"The Kongs are camped out in front of the sub and they're sporting some mean artillery.  Looks like two archaic Taim&Bach B9 Blaster Rifles.  But that's probably just a coincidence, it probably doesn't even fire lasers for all I know.  But damn if it isn't a good facsimile.  Coincidences, coincidences," said Dan.

"What's your question?  I want to keep this line clear for as much as possible.  I don't want to risk a trace," said Fox.

"Yeah I hear you.  Anyway, my question is this: how long should we hole up in here?" asked Dan.  Fox glanced at his chronometer, fifteen minutes had passed since he'd last looked at it.

"Half-hour more.  Unless they start becoming fidgety then earlier," said Fox shutting off the link.  He motioned his fingers forward and the team continued on through the jungle.

Passageway outside of LightFoot Village: Anklor and the Red Hammer forces traveled through the tight passageway on their way to the Walled City by way of Cape Claw.  Anklor moved at the head of the convoy along with several other soldiers.  They soon passed a gate on the sidewall.

"What do you make of this?" asked Samson.  Anklor shrugged.

"It's of no concern to us now, only the mission," he responded.  And with that the convoy rumbled forward past the gate where several LightFoot watched from beyond it.  The Chief made a motion with his hand and several LightFoot bounded up the wall and walked along the top of it holding their stun rods waiting to pounce on the enemy.  The convoy trundled forward oblivious to the oncoming attack and approached a golden scarab on a pedestal.  The front Landmaster rumbled to a halt in front of the scarab as Anklor approached it.

"You cannot pass unless you pay 60 scarabs," said the Scarab.

"Oh really?" asked Anklor bemused. "Are you sure?"

"Positive," said the scarab.  Anklor grinned heavily.

"Last chance.  Are you sure you won't change your mind?" asked Anklor.

"Positive.  I need the money.  Nothing you can do will change my mind," said the scarab.  Anklor cocked his head and moved to the side as the Landmaster barrel lowered until it pointed directly at the scarab.  Anklor returned and stepped next to the barrel.

"Nothing?" he asked again with a big grin.  If the scarab could've shuddered it would have.

"I-I was w-wrong.  P-please, go ahead.  No charge!  Yeah, no charge!" said the scarab as the gate began to life.  Anklor leaned forward.

"Thank you," he said mockingly.  Then he stepped back, rolled his eyes, and made a quick slice across his throat.  A moment later the Landmaster fired blasting the scarab to pieces before the barrel raised and fired at the gate blasting it and a large portion of the far wall with it.  Anklor stepped through the smoke with a large cigar in his mouth smiling.

"I love the smell of plasma in the morning.  Let's move!" shouted Anklor.  Greg, Samson, and Porpoise all watched him as they loaded some shoulder mounted rocket launchers.

"10:1 says we're all dead before we reach the Walled City," said Porpoise.  He brought out a box and they all put money into it.

"Whoever survives this gets the earnings," said Greg.  The others nodded and Greg put the box into a holding place in the Landmaster right next to them.  Porpoise pulled out a rifle, put a couple of shells into it, and snapped it shut.

"Let's move," he said as they started walking.  Up above the convoy, the Lightfoot grasped their staffs prepping for the attack.  The Chief LightFoot was just about to motion for the group to attack when laser blasts rained down from above ripping through several LightFeet and taking out portions of the wall they were standing on.  The Chief fell off the wall and landed in a tree with third degree burns as he searched for the attacker.  Moments later he saw it, two UVCAF fighters who continued blasting the LighFeet who tried to escape.  The Chief struggled to get up and escape the inferno when a final chunk of shrapnel zoomed fell towards the Chief and moments later everything went dark.  The convoy meanwhile was utterly confused as to the laser blasts until the bodies began raining down and the two UVCAF fighters roared by overhead.

"Thanks friends," said Anklor.  The two fighters moved forward and then hovered above the convoy.

"You should always keep your eyes on the sky Anklor; you might not have two guardian angels the next time," said the pilot.

"You're no angel Bill," said Anklor.

"Ain't that the truth," said Sanders in the other fighter.  Bill's fighter pointed towards the ground and fired blowing up large chunks of dirt around Anklor.

"That's for insubordination soldier," said Bill laughing.  He then cut the repulsors and hit the main engine. "Later Anklor."

"Bye Bill," said Anklor as the two fighters took off.  He then hit the Landmaster and the convoy moved off.

ThornTail Hollow: Andross walked out of the bay of the ship and walked towards his personal ship, which was receiving last minute checks.  As he put on his driving gloves, an aide came bounding down the ramp after him.

"Sir, who will take over in your absence?  Warlord Hammer is still a couple days away so whose it gonna be?" asked the aide.  Andross stood back and thought about that question.  Luckily the answer came a moment later when an UVCAF hover transport, heavily damaged and leaking smoke lurched it's way into the Hollow and immediately crashed to the ground and fell apart immediately.  Out of the smoke filled interior came Shabunga and the rest of his troops and technicians.

"Well there's your eight hours of work!" shouted one of the technicians a little grumpy.

"Eight hours of worked wasted!" said another technician beginning to cry.  Shabunga shrugged.

"Who cares?  We got here in one piece didn't we?" he said.

"I wouldn't call that ride 'getting here in one piece'," said the troop leader.

"Whatever," said Shabunga.  Andross quickly walked up to him.

"Emperor," said Shabunga saluting. "What's up?"

"I have pressing business elsewhere and I need you to step in and lead the invasion.  Most everything is planned out for the invasion.  In the event that I'm not back in a couple days, Hammer will show up with his fleet and take over," said Andross.  Shabunga nodded.

"Can I ask where you're going?" asked Shabunga.  Andross shook his head.

"No, security purposes.  But don't worry I won't be gone long," said Andross.  He was just about to board his craft when a technician ran up to him out of breath.

"Yes?" Andross asked.  The technician leaned over a moment before straightening up.

"Sir, we have two fighters inbound.  One of them is Commander Grey and he requests to urgently speak to you in person.  He refused to say what it was over an open channel, but he says it is a matter of life or death.  What should we tell him?  After all, you were just leaving," said the technician.  Andross quickly hoisted himself into his ship, closed the door, and activated the comm. system.

"Bill?" he said.

"Yes Emperor, we need to speak with you," said Bill.

"Who's we?" asked Andross.

"Sanders and myself.  He was the one who first brought this…discrepancy to my attention and I couldn't not bring him along," said Bill.

"Grammar, commander.  Anyway, who else knows about this discrepancy?" asked Andross.

"No one.  We erased all information regarding it so no one else would find out," said Bill.  Andross nodded, even though the motion was pointless since Bill couldn't see him, and continued to power up his ship.

"Commander, I need an escort to where I'm going.  Now I know you want to know the truth but be patient.  Once we get to where we're going, you'll finally learn the truth.  Now let's go," said Andross as his ship left the ground and proceeded out towards Cape Claw followed by Bill and Sanders in an escort formation.

Maze: Anklor and the Red Hammer stood in front of the maze entrance contemplating what to do.  Greg, Porpoise, and Samson all stood by the entrance wondering whether or not to go in.

"You want to go in and find your way around the maze?  It shouldn't take that long," said Porpoise.

"Yeah, but unfortunately it might not matter, the Landmasters can't fit through those passages very well and we don't know how long the maze lasts so to hovering over it might not be viable.  What do you think Samson?" asked Greg.  Samson eyed the maze curiously.

"Hell, I don't know," he said truthfully.  The were still thinking about it a couple moments later when the front Landmaster roared to life and lurched forward with it's boost.

"Yaahh!" shouted Anklor who was driving the thing as Greg, Samson, and Porpoise all leapt to the side to avoid being crushed.  The Landmaster noisily crashed through the first wall and proceeded to crash through all the others before winding up on the other side.  Anklor leaned over the side to look back at the rest of the wide-eyed convoy.

"What're you waiting for?  Onward!" shouted Anklor as his tank rumbled off only to fall down a well right beyond the maze.

"Looks like we're through with him," said Porpoise breathing a sigh of relief.  A moment later the Landmaster lifted back into view with its hoverjets on full blast only to land on the other side.

"Damn, it's never easy," said Greg.  The group sighed and moved on through the holes in the maze along with the rest of the convoy on the way to Cape Claw.  Above them, Andross, Sanders, and Bill roared overhead on their way to the cape as well.

DK Island: Fox was staring at the industrial complex through a pair of binoculars.

"I don't see any defenses, but they're probably just hidden," said Fox.

"I don't believe so.  My thermals are detecting no heat consistent with any type of weaponry," said the robot.  Fox laughed.

"That's because there shouldn't be any.  The weaponry here probably doesn't operate using lasers so there goes any heat.  Projectile weapons don't use heat whatsoever.  Just watch yourself we're moving in," said Fox as he stepped out into the brush and slowly made his way to the compound.  Down at Cranky's Cabin in Kongo Jungle, Dan and Andrew sat with the Kongs eating some food.

"Thank you for your hospitality, it was a long trip," said Dan.  Cranky leaned back in his chair.

"Yes it was.  Now if you don't mind my asking; why are you here?"

"We're a peace envoy," said Dan shrugging, quickly scratching his right ear so Fox could hear their conversation. "We want to make peace with you."

"Why?" DK asked angrily.  Dan raised the muscles above his right eyebrow in an approximation of an eyebrow raise since he didn't have eyebrows.

"Because it'd be mutually beneficial.  We don't have to invade you and you don't have to worry about being eradicated," said Dan.  DK angrily stood up and looked like he was about to throw the table.  Cranky immediately slammed his cane into DK's chest to prevent him from lunging across the table.  DK finally calmed down and sat.

"Why'd you do that?  I could've taken him!" said DK.  Cranky laughed.

"Possibly.  But you'd never made it over the table.  His partner had a blaster rifle trained on you the whole time underneath the table.  If you'd leapt he'd have fired, taken off your head, and a large chunk of the table with it.  That's technology for ya," laughed Cranky.  DK just growled as Andrew hoisted the blaster rifle over the table and rested the barrel on it.

"What is that, a Taim&Bak B-12?" asked Cranky. "Surely they've reached that model number by now."

"Actually, it's a B-11, the B-12's are slated for release next month," said Dan wide-eyed. "How did you know that?"

Cranky laughed. "I'm not from this pitiful world.  I came from another world, one where Taim&Bak supplied weaponry to."

"Then you know we mean business," said Dan.  In the jungle Fox nodded approvingly.

"That's it, keep them talking for a little while longer," he said.  He and his team slowly moved closer and closer to Kremkroc Industries.

"Oh I don't doubt that.  But our alliance means business," said Cranky.  Dan leaned back in his chair.

"And what alliance is that?" he asked with a grin.

"The URVAC forces," said Crankly gleefully.  Dan's, Andrew's, Fox's, Leon's, and even the Shogun's eyes went wide open.

"Holy shit," said Leon stopping abruptly.  Fox yanked out his hand to silence his chatter.

"It's a coincidence nothing more.  Do you hear me Dan?" Fox demanded. "Wait, don't respond to that!  Shogun, take off and get back there now!"

The shogun warrior blasted into the sky and took off for the beach.

"So what does this 'URVAC' stand for?  It doesn't sound threatening to me," said Dan nervously laughing.  Cranky leaned forward with a maniacal grin on his face.

"It stands for the United Republic of Venom and Corneria.  And I know you've heard about it if you really are from another world," said Cranky.  Dan began laughing maniacally as well.

"I hate to break it to you, but the URVAC regime fell over forty years ago," he said.  Cranky shook his head in pity.

"Nice try.  But no one could possibly have defeated Emperor Calhoun," said Cranky. "He's too psychotic to go easily."

Fox smashed his fists together and yanked out a pair of heavy blasters.

"C'mon Leon we're going back," he said.  Leon nodded and ran off with Fox back to the cliff they'd ascended to.  Down in the cabin, the conversation continued.

"That butcher is dead.  I saw him die, we all did," said Dan with rage.  Cranky shook his head.

"Don't play that game with me.  You're working for Calhoun and the URVAC forces and you've come to test my loyalty.  Don't play those games with me!" shouted Cranky.  Dan's eyes boiled red and he was just about ready to leap over the table.  But then all of a sudden the Shogun Warrior crashed through the roof of the cabin and began shooting.

"Andrew cut and run!" shouted Fox rappelling down Monkey Cliff.  Andrew began firing laser blasts and the whole cabin erupted with small arms fire.  Andrew grabbed Dan and yanked him out of the cabin as the Shogun warrior was blown to pieces.

"Fox, what now!" shouted Andrew over the comm.

"Head for the Blue Marine we'll meet up with you there," said Fox as he reached the bottom of the cliff and released his harness attaching him to it.  He quickly ran off into the jungle followed by Leon who was quickly loading his blaster.  On the beach, fire erupted from the trees as Andrew and Dan ran out of the jungle with Andrew firing blindly back into it.  They raced around the Blue Marine that stood between them and the jungle as various blasts hit the side of it.  From another angle, Fox and Leon ran across the beach as large explosions went off from mines and mortar shells all around them.  Finally they reached the Blue Marine and sat on the other side with Andrew and Dan against the tank tread on the sub.

"Way to go Dan.  It looks like you got them agitated," said Fox loading his weapons he was carrying.

"Yeah, but now we can't reach the upper hatch," said Andrew pointing his gun upward and firing the shell in it so that it arced towards the jungle even as more explosions went off around them.

"If we don't get this thing into the water, they'll either get in a lucky shot or blast the Marine to pieces," said Leon.

"Thanks for the positive spin on things Leon," said Andrew.

"The truth is never positive, you know that," the lizard responded.

"Well boys, looks like we die fighting.  On th-," began Fox when a loud whine was heard.  They looked up to see a personal ship and two fighters fly by overhead.  The team ran around the ship as it landed in front of the Blue Marine.  Out of the ship emerged several laser guns that immediately fired stun bolts at everyone but Cranky.

"Yes that's right, be cowards!" shouted Cranky.  The team ran around to the front of the ship and trained their weapons on the gorilla, which made no moves to escape.  Behind them the door to the ship opened and a ramp descended.  Out of the ramp came the Emperor of the Lylat System.

"No my old friend, we're not cowards," said Andross walking towards Cranky. "We're both just victims of a great misunderstanding."

"Andross, is it really you?" asked Cranky disbelieving his own eyes.  Andross laughed.

"Yes, it's me old friend.  Listen, do you have a place we can talk, it is time I revealed the truth to all of us," said Andross.

"Yes old friend, come with me.  There's a place not to far from here," said Cranky moving off.  Andross motioned his hand forward and a group of Shogun Robots emerged and hoisted the unconscious Kongs onto their shoulders and they set off into the jungle.  Andross quickly spun around before entering it.

"Dan, you're services here have ended.  Take the Blue Marine and go back to Cape Claw.  Then make your way to ThornTail Hollow and if you want to return home, do so.  You've done far too much on this mission and I fear staying here any longer will destroy your psyche," said Andross.  Dan nodded.

"Thank you Emperor," said Dan running off as Bill and Sanders ran past him to join the group.  Andross then quickly fell in tandem with Cranky who was shaking his head.

"Emperor, huh?" he asked incredulously.  Andross nodded.

"That's correct," he said.  Cranky nodded.

"Then we do have a lot to discuss," he said just as DK's tree house loomed into view.

Cape Claw: The troops already stationed there were setting up defensive shields around the Cape when suddenly loud music was heard.  They all did quick sweeps trying to detect the extraneous sound when Anklor's Landmaster roared into view and descended towards the beach.  On the tank was a loudspeaker playing as the convoy rolled onto the beach and came to a halt as the sun began to dip low on the horizon.

"Boys, set up camp!" shouted Anklor.  The tanks and other vehicles set up a circle surrounding a central area and shut down along with the music.  The Red Hammer quickly set up camp with a fire in the middle and brought out their rations.  Down by the Harlock Cruiser still on the ground, the troop commander watched them with disgust.

"If those idiots compromise security here, I swear I'll kill them myself," said the leader.  The captain of the Harlock nodded.

"Yeah, or we can just abandon them.  Whatever, they're leaving tomorrow let's just be grateful for that," said the captain.  The leader nodded and went off to join his troops as the sun finally set and nighttime fell on Dinosaur Planet.

DK Island: DK stood on one end of the table very grumpy at the whole ordeal as well as utterly confused by Cranky's refusal to attack the newcomers.  Andross stood leaning up against the window as he watched the sunset.

"Beautiful.  You're lucky here Cranky, don't forget that.  Especially considering the bombshell I'm going to drop on everybody," said Andross to Cranky who was right next to him.

"Speaking of which," said Fox after clearing his throat. "How about telling us what that bombshell is."

Andross sighed before turning and sitting at the table. "Fine, prepare to be annihilated."

"Actually can I ask a question first?" asked Fox.

"Actually I want you all to tell me what you've found out so far.  Then you can ask questions," said Andross.

"Fine I guess we'll go first," said Bill. "Roughly forty years or so ago, something happened on this planet that caused them to start producing fuel identical to ones currently used in vehicles in the Lylat System.  Before that they didn't use fuel, at all.  Thus something had to have happened around forty years ago that would account for this.  I believe we all know what happened forty years ago so I won't repeat it."

"Our hosts don't," said Andross crossing his arms.  Bill swallowed hard.

"Right.  That was around the time that Calhoun," said Bill visibly cringing at the word. "was forced from power by our esteemed Emperor thus ending his reign of terror."

"So it was," said Andross. "Fox?"

Fox straightened up in his chair. "Well we've encountered a number of things.  First is the fact that this planet has no real natural resources and isn't exactly on any travel route.  That's two marks against the invasion prerequisite," began Fox.

"You have an invasion prerequisite?  Ugh," said DK disgusted.  Cranky and Andross both shot him a look.

"It's how things were done since before even my day.  I'm glad to see it's still being used.  Even if it doesn't apply to our planet," said Cranky.

"Anyway, then we have the DragonRock Facility.  Okay admittedly I didn't have the chance of verifying this myself, but according to a BoneClaw at CloudRunner Fortress, it supposedly had defensive capabilities unmatched by anything on this planet.  It had a massive hyperlaser to take out orbiting objects while missiles defended it from any short range attack," said Fox.

"And what do you think it was?" asked Andross.  Fox shrugged.

"At the time I thought it was an experimental land based Gorgon.  After all, one exists on Macbeth.  But I dismissed it as fantasy because there was no way the dinos could've built it.  But then the BoneClaw dropped a bombshell that I'm only beginning to comprehend now," said Fox.

"And that was?" said Andross.  Fox turned to face him.

"Again, around forty years ago five ships came to this planet.  They were refugees from another solar system, one where they had apparently fallen from power.  Now if I recall correctly from history class, Calhoun's followers, after Andross eliminated Calhoun, all piled up into five ships and took off for the unknown.  This planet might very well have been their first destination and quite possibly their last," said Fox.

"And you think that this is why I ordered the invasion.  To take out his followers," Andross reasoned.  Fox shook his head.

"No," said Fox.  Andross leaned back and crossed his arms.

"Why do you say that?" he asked.  Fox leaned forward this time.

"Because if it was that simple you'd have simply sent in the Seals or possibly us to sneak in, find them, and then take them out.  But you didn't.  Something here requires your attention and you can't come here on your own it would be too suspicious and raise too many eyebrows even though you are the Emperor.  So the only way you could be on this planet and not make it appear suspicious is if you ordered the invasion of this world.  The Emperor can be present during invasions to lead them and nothing would appear out of the ordinary.  That's why we invaded now the question is why are we here?" demanded Fox.  Andross looked at him.

"You know why we're here," he said.  Fox slowly nodded.

"Yes, I know why we're here.  And I hate myself because I know," said Fox.

"So why are we here?" asked Leon.  Fox spun to face him.

"We are here because Calhoun is here," said Fox adamantly.  Silence filled the room after that statement.

"Just who is this Calhoun?  I thought he was dead," said DK finally.  Andross was about to respond to that question when Warlord Hammer entered the cabin.

"He is dead.  As for who he is;" said Hammer setting down a holoprojector on the table that showed the billygoat with a typical sneer. "He is the one who was responsible for the deaths of over four billion individuals.  That's how many we know about.  He reigned for thirty years and single handedly brought down every accomplishment that had been achieved in the past two hundred years before that.  The Lylat System entered the dark ages for the first time in countless millennia.  If Andross hadn't stopped him when he did we'd all be dead and so would everything else in this galaxy," said Hammer sitting down.

"Who're you?" asked DK.  Cranky leapt up and sneered.

"His name is Warlord Hammer and he's a menace to the Lylat System.  What're you doing here Warlord?  Come to gloat before you annihilate this house.  I won't let you kill the Emperor!" said Cranky.  Hammer began laughing along with Andross.

"Old friend, those days are behind him.  Hammer is now second in command of the UVCAF empire and the commander of the UVCAF armed forces," said Andross.

"What?  How could you do that?" said Cranky with disbelief.

"He's proven his loyalty time and time again," said Andross.

"How?" Cranky asked refusing to believe him.

"If not for Hammer, Calhoun would still be in power right now," said Andross simply.  Cranky just grumbled.

"Speaking of which, why are you here Hammer?" Fox asked.  Hammer shrugged.

"I heard Andross was about to drop the bombshell on you guys.  And UVCAF law states that the Emperor cannot enter a conflict on his own," said Hammer.

"So you knew all along about why we're here," said Fox.  Hammer nodded.

"Yes and that's why I didn't participate in your coming here.  Andross considered me a possible security risk for the opening phase of this mission," said Hammer.

"Speaking of which, we've told you all we know, uncle can you fill in the rest?" asked Andrew.  Andross sighed again.

"That's the problem with the truth, it's more complicated than a lie.  I really don't know where to begin," said Andross.

"Start at the beginning, with Calhoun's death," said Fox.  Andross nodded.

"Alright then.  Forty years ago, with Hammer's help, I managed to set up a revolt outside of the Imperial Palace on Katina.  Hammer provided the means and allowed me access to Calhoun's private conservatory where he was issuing his propaganda.  From there I managed to shoot and kill him thus ending his reign of terror forever," said Andross.

"So Calhoun is dead," said Fox.  Andross shrugged.

"That's what I thought at the time.  But four years later I found old files talking about Dinosaur Planet with notes furiously scribbled on it talking about Krazoa Spirits.  I shrugged it off as utter nonsense until recovered files indicated that Calhoun has discovered Dinosaur Planet when he was part of the previous emperor's army and had been stationed there for six months.  He learned from the locals that it might be possible to entech your spirit," said Andross.

"Entech?" asked DK clearly confused.

"Remove your spirit by basically turning yourself into a Krazoa Spirit," said Andross.

"Oh,"

"But it doesn't really matter does it?  After all, Calhoun's followers don't have his body right?" asked Bill.  Andross remained silent and didn't say anything.

"Right?"

Andross sighed. "Unfortunately they do or did have his body," he finally admitted.

"How could you do that?" demanded Bill.  Andross spun around and faced him.

"What would have done in my position?  His followers came in right after I killed him and told me that if I didn't give them the body, they'd revolt and cause countless headaches for me.  I had to ensure stability in the Lylat System, we were in for it as it was.  For four years after I overthrew Calhoun there was chaos until finally I wrestled back control of the system from the people," said Andross.

"Thanks again to my help and some carefully planned invasions," said Hammer.  Cranky groaned.

"I can't believe this!  You were never so nice when Calhoun was around!" shouted Calhoun.  Hammer shrugged.

"I hated Calhoun, and annoying you was fun," said Hammer leaning back in his chair as he drank some of the wine that the Kongs had provided.

"Did you ever follow up on the enteching deal?" asked Sanders.  Andross nodded.

"Yes, three years later I journeyed with a science team to Dinosaur Planet and we were just about to land on the planet and conduct a three month investigation when something came up that prevented us from landing," said Andross.  Hammer groaned and got a sharp look from Cranky.

"What was that?" DK asked.  Andross leaned back even farther into his chair.

"We were invaded.  Or to be more precise, the Lylat System was," he said.

"Be whom?" asked Andrew.  Andross said nothing but just pointed his index finger at Hammer who began laughing nervously while Cranky cackled with glee.

"I knew it!" he said quickly standing up and pointing at Hammer. "That's the Warlord I remember!  Ha, ha, ha!  Sweet redemption!"

Hammer just shook his head before straightening up and holding his hands in defeat.

"I make no excuses for what I did; I figured I could take him out.  You were what Andross, 47?"

"46,"

"Right, and I was 32 at the time, I figured I could take you on.  Course then I failed," said Hammer beginning to become insightful.

"Yes I did," said Andross nodding with superiority. "And defeated you.  Then I made you think long and hard about what you'd done and then offered you a position as an UVCAF general.  I haven't regretted it since," said the Emperor.  Hammer nodded.

"Yes, but how did you know my tactics so well?  You never told after all these years of asking," said Hammer.  Andross shrugged.

"I guess it doesn't matter anymore.  Truth be told, you were too much like your counterpart, 'the dreamers' told me his strategies and lo and behold yours were very similar," said Andross.  Hammer nodded.

"Somehow I'm comforted by the fact that you didn't just outguess me.  And let me also assume that what they told you about the other me convinced you not to kill me outright," asked Hammer.  Andross nodded.

"Be grateful for that otherwise at the time I probably would've killed you outright," said Andross.  Hammer nodded.

"I'd like to meet him someday," he said.  Andross shrugged.

"Maybe one day you will," said Andross.  Hammer quickly snapped up to look at him, but Andross snapped his hand to tell him to forget it.  Hammer shrugged as well.

"Excuse me, but who are 'the dreamers'?" asked Cranky.  Andross turned to face him.

"It's not important, maybe I'll tell you one day.  Suffice to say, they helped bond the Lylat System together.  Well that and Pepper revolted," said Andross.  Cranky started forward.

"Pepper revolted against you?" he asked.  Andross growled and leaned forward.

"Look can we just drop the damn history lesson for now!  If you have any historical questions in the years you've been on this prison colony, consult the computers on board _The Mantia01_," said Andross.  The group nodded.

"I still can't believe you gave away the body," said Andrew.  Andross scowled.

"What would you have done in my place?  Have open rebellion on top of the destabilizing society?  Besides, how could I have known Calhoun would have a backup plan for his own death?" shouted Andross.  Fox nodded.

"The Emperor's right, how could he have known?  Besides, Calhoun hasn't come back and his death did make things a hell of a lot better for all of us," said Fox.  Cranky nodded as well.

"I'm sure life for us would've been torture as well.  Calhoun was killed a mere six months after he imprisoned myself and several other ape families here.  Who knows how worse things would've gotten for us away from prying eyes had he survived?" he asked.

"Yes, we're all grateful.  Now the question is, what do we do know?  Andross and I were hoping something would've been discovered by now, but nothing's come up.  Cranky, do you have any idea where we could find any leads?" asked Andross helplessly.  Cranky leaned back in his chair some more and began thinking deeply about their situation.  Finally he leaned forward and rested his elbows on the table.

"Awhile back we heard rumors about a reclusive society based in the Great Dino Desert called the Fremen.  They arrived on this planet several years ago and only requested that they be left alone.  The dinos being the peace loving idiots that they are accepted the terms and they've lived in the desert for several years.  That's the best I can give you.  Now if you find out that Calhoun is now a Krazoa Spirit, the Warpstone is your best bet on finding him," said Cranky.

"The warpstone?" asked Andross confused. "Fox I don't recall you ever mentioning a warp stone before?"

Fox shrugged helplessly. "This is the first I've ever heard of it.  It certainly wasn't in ThornTail Hollow when we landed and I didn't hear about it at Cape Claw or CloudRunner Fortress.  I'm at a lost for words."

"I'm not surprised," said Cranky. "The Warpstone is probably the closest thing these primitive idiots have for a god.  It's somehow linked to the Krazoa Spirits and can detect them.  If Calhoun was a spirit, that thing would have to be able to locate it no matter where it was.  It used to reside in ThornTail Hollow until a couple of years ago when it relocated to Moon Mountain Pass," said Cranky.  Andross nodded.

"Thank you old friend.  Now I have one last question to ask.  What do you want us to do with you?  Do you want to rejoin your brethren in the Lylat System, do you want to join the ranks of the UVCAF, what do you want?" asked Andross.  Cranky sighed deeply before turning to the Emperor.

"If it's all the same to you, we'd like to be left in peace here on our island alone.  As much as it pains me to say this, we've been left out of the loop too long.   It would be too difficult to rejoin the proper UVCAF society.  Would this work out somehow?  I don't really know UVCAF policy, but I hope it will somehow," said Cranky.  Andross put his elbows on the table and closed his hands together in front of his face as he contemplated what to do.  Finally he reached an answer.

"I know what we'll do.  You will be the UVCAF local garrison of this particular island.  Your only mission is to make sure it's safe from influences that would present a threat to the UVCAF.  If you need anything, just call," said Andross tossing a portable comm. system onto the table, crashing into the imager of Calhoun smashing it to pieces.

"Let's go," said Fox heading for the door.

"Hammer, can you take them back?  I need to talk with Cranky," said Andross.  Hammer raised  the muscles above his right eye in the approximation of raising a non-existent eyebrow but just nodded.

"Alright let's go.  Emperor, do you mind if I stick around?  The fleet's still going to be here in three days, but it seems pointless to go back only to return," he said.  Andross nodded.

"You can stay.  Take over the invasion for now.  I'll be back in a little bit," said Andross.  The team filed out of the tree house, climbed down the ladder, and left down the path to the beach.

"What's the deal with those two?" asked Leon.

"You don't know?" asked Fox.

"No," admitted Leon.

"Hammer," prompted Fox.  Hammer turned to them as he continued moving down the path.

"Cranky is Andross' uncle and former teacher at the URVAC academy.  He taught him everything he knew and if not for his teachings, Andross might not have been able to overthrown Calhoun.  Andross believed he was eliminated by Calhoun and that prompted him to get rid of Calhoun as soon as possible before anyone else was killed," said Hammer.  The team nodded solmenly as they continued down the path to the ship.

Treehouse: Andross watched the three bright lights of Hammer's ship along with Bill and Sanders fighters roar off into the night sky leaving a jet stream behind them.  The other Kongs meanwhile had filed out of the cabin leaving Cranky and Andross alone.

"It's good to see you again teacher," said Andross.  Cranky snorted.

"It's good to see you as well student.  I must admit, I'm impressed with what I've seen so far.  I knew you'd come far, but this is extraordinary.  Never did I suspect you'd overthrow that madman but thank God you did.  I'm proud of you," said Cranky.  Andross nodded.

'Thank you sir," said Andross.  Cranky nodded and smiled.

"Now get out of here.  You've got your empire and I have mine.  Goodbye, Emperor," said Cranky.  Andross nodded, saluted him in the old URVAC style and left.  As he left, DK entered into the cabin and watched Andross walk off through the jungle.

"Who was that?" DK asked.

"My greatest success, my nephew," said Cranky with a tear in his eye as Andross finally vanished into the trees forever.  Down on the beach Andross took one last look at the island from the hatch of his ship.

"Vaya Con Dios uncle, vaya con dios," said Andross as he boarded his ship and it blasted off into the night sky.  Nearby, unseen, a Krazoa Spirit watched the ship fly off.  It hovered there for a few moments more before flying off in a different direction, towards Moon Mountain Pass.


	6. Rising Action

ThornTail Hollow the following morning: The shift changed as the night patrol went into _The Mantia 01_ to sleep as they were replaced by the day shift.  In one of the mess halls, the Starfox Team, Hammer, Bill and Sanders, and Andross all got their breakfast and sat down at a table among the other soldiers.  Andross believed that if the Emperor put himself too high above his subordinates, they'd rebel quicker so this was one way to alleviate that problem.

"So what's on today's agenda?" asked Bill.  Andross had made it explicit the night before that there would no mentioning of Calhoun at any time in public.  Andross drank out of his water bottle along with some aspirin.  He rubbed his weary eyes and put the bottle down.

"Okay here's your orders for the time being.  Fox, I want you and your team to join up with Jerry Mingham and DPAF15.  They are currently in the Great Dino Desert and by now they should've heard at least something about these Fremen, regardless of how private they are.  You'll have to have a transport take you there because frequent sandstorms cause problems for any aerial support so they aren't equipped refuel your fighters as needed.  Once you find the Fremen, find out what we need to know from them," said Andross before turning to Bill and Sanders. "I want you to take DPAF1 and conduct bombing raids over Moon Mountain Pass.  I want a smooth and straight path through that area with no resistance whatsoever.  Then try and locate the Warpstone on foot.  Once you find it, you are not to make any contact with it whatsoever.  I don't want that thing to know we're onto it until the last possible moment when we confront it."

"What will you be doing in the meantime?" asked Hammer.  Andross turned to him.

"I'm returning to the Lylat System for the time being.  I need to contact someone there about ways to eliminate a Krazoa Spirit.  I'll also be taking most of the fleet with me, they're needed elsewhere.  The invasion is just about over, the occupation is what comes next and that's what the Seventh Fleet is for so they'll show up and do just that.  Hammer, you're in charge until I get back," said Andross.  Hammer nodded in affirmation.

"Very well.  But how do you intend on finding a way to kill it?  I mean you couldn't possible have," began Hammer before Andross cut him off.

"One of the my black ops teams captured a Krazoa Spirit last night in a special containment grid and right now it's being escorted back to the Lylat System.  I intend to meet up with it at Venom and go from there," said Andross rising to leave.

"So how many capital ships will be left?" asked Hammer.

"I'll leave three Dorisby's and two Grazan's in orbit.  Plus there are Harlock's here and there all over the surface of the planet.  Just access the troop manifest and the exact amount as well as where they're located will pop up.  Oh yeah, _The Mantia 01_ will be here as well.  It's still a decent fleet for an already conquered planet," said Andross grabbing his leather jacket and shades.

"Still though, is there no way you could leave a Zeram behind as well?" asked Hammer.  Andross shook his head.

"I can't, they're all needed for the taking of the Beta Reticula System.  Once that's over with, I'll swing one your way.  We're in the midst of some rapid expansion Hammer it's really exciting.  Plus it's helping cover up what's happening here," said Andross turning to leave.

"Just out of curiosity, who is leading that invasion?" asked Hammer.

"General Tauros of couse," said Andross with a smirk.  The group groaned, Tauros had been the bull on Titania who'd almost had them arrested after a bar fight with a group of Octopi.  Since then the Starfox Team and Hammer had been having a somewhat friendly competition about who could conquer more systems for the UVCAF forces.  If Tauros could take the system, it would put him slightly in the lead of the group.

"We'll catch up with him somehow," said Fox.  Andross shrugged.

"Have fun," he said and left for his personal ship and the fleet above.  Hammer sighed and leaned back in his chair with his hands behind him.

"Well, we all have our missions.  Get to them by 0900 hours," he said before taking his meal and depositing it in the garbage and leaving.

"Why is he taking off to work so soon?" asked Leon.  Fox laughed.

"I heard him and Andross discussing it in the hallway.  He has to keep close tabs on Anklor and the Red Hammer or they might do something stupid if left alone," said Fox.  The team all winced at hearing Anklor's name mentioned.

"Remember during the Lylat Wars he invaded Macbeth on his own and wound up detonating that weapons facility?" asked Sanders.  Bill shuddered at the mention of that incident.

"I nearly died that day.  The ensuing explosions knocked my ship from the sky and forced me to fight my way through fifteen miles of enemy territory," said Bill.

"Yeah, that was probably partially me fault.  I was with Anklor when he got that bright idea.  'Let's divert the supply train' he said 'It'll crash somewhere safely.  It'll be easy!'   That was the biggest load of crap I ever heard," said Fox.

"Nothing is ever easy with him," said Bill before looking at his chronometer. "Well Sanders and I must be off."

"Later," said Sanders.  They both emptied their trays and left for the bay.  Fox took another sip of his juice before standing up as well.

"C'mon guys the work's never done," said Fox walking off.  Leon and Andrew fell into line behind him.

"Speak for yourself, I'm taking a vacation after this," said Andrew.  Leon snorted.

"Yeah, right.  Like your uncle would ever let you take time off," said the lizard.

"He might," said Andrew.  Fox shook his head.

"Not until you pay him back for the transport you wrecked," Fox said.

"How was I supposed to know it was his?" Andrew exclaimed.  Leon smacked him on the chest to stop him.

"Maybe if you'd listened to us when we **said** it was his then you wouldn't be in this predicament," said Leon as he continued walking.  Andrew grumbled something but otherwise was silent.  The team entered into the bay as Bill and Sander's fighters blasted by overhead and flew off into the morning sky.  The team walked to the transport heading for the Great Dino Desert.

"I have two things to say," said the pilot powering up the various systems on the heap. "One is that you'd better buckle up.  The second is that we might not survive the trip there.  We've lost two transports bringing reinforcements and supplies into the area and a third that was on its way back after dropping off Jerry Mingham and his team.  And just so you know, there have only been three trips into that area," said the pilot as he shut the door to the main cabin.

"Can they still be alive after three days in a desert with no reinforcements or new supplies?" asked Leon.  Fox shrugged helplessly.

"Jerry and his Desert Commandos are known for being very nomadic at times.  That's why they frequently patrolled Titania's deserts before the war and only invade planets that have a large desert.  Andross knows to leave them alone; they're just about a fully autonomous group.  They have their own ships and supplies, but Andross gives them new equipment as needed.  There was a rumor that circulated around the UVCAF that just prior to the war, Jerry and his commandos crossed the entire Great Northern Desert on Titania in six months with only six Landmasters and no supplies beyond typical survival gear, and that's only supposed to last you for three weeks," said Fox.  Leon whistled after hearing that.

"Damn," he said before straightening out. "So what are they, crazy or just that damn good?"

Fox shrugged. "No one knows, no one really tries to talk to them.  Most communications are text messages because the team doesn't care visual communications, too much equipment they say."

"Then I'll guess we'll be the first to find out," said Andrew nervously.  Leon leaned back his chair to sleep in it.

"Better rest up, in three hours who knows how much sleep we'll get," said the lizard.  The others nodded and turned in also.

Cape Claw: "They're gone," said the captain.

"What do you mean gone?" demanded Hammer over the comm.  The captain looked out over the Cape to the spot where the Red Hammer had been, but there were only a couple of charred pits next to some tracks leading to a massive hole in the jungle surrounding the cape.

"I mean they took off at the crack of dawn this morning before anyone noticed they were gone," said the captain.

"Great, just great.  Now I'll never get in touch with them," said Hammer sighing.

"Let me guess, comm. silence right?  Good ol' Anklor too predictable," said the captain. "Do you want us to chase after him?"

"No don't.  Better that idiot kills himself than comes back to do more damage," said Hammer. "You didn't hear me say that."

"No, of course not," said the captain laughing.  Fifteen miles south, Anklor and the Red Hammer crashed onward through the forest.

"Onward, the Walled City is about to become the flattened city," cackled Anklor maniacally.  The rest of the Red Hammer sighed and continued on after him.

1½ Hours Later: Bill and Sanders fighters approached DPAF1.  The team was currently holed up at Mobile Base 12 in Alkali Valley.

"So Bill, you get our orders yet?" asked Jimmy over the comm. from his repaired carrier.

"Yep, and it's our favorite profile.  It's a bombing raid.  I'm coming in so I'll explain it all in detail," said Bill.  The two fighters roared over the camp and then landed nearby.  Bill and Sanders ran to the base and explained their mission and in a half hour after refueling and rearming, they took off for Moon Mountain Pass.

3 Hours Later: "There they are," said the pilot.  The team was in the cockpit looking out at the endless desert.  They could finally make out a small camp with tents surrounded by sixteen landmasters and thirty desert rovers.  A couple fire pits were visible as well as several creatures were seen visible moving from tent to tent.

"So far so good," said Fox.  Two Landmasters turned from their current positions and pointed their barrels at the approaching transport.

"Quick, evasive maneuvers they're gonna fire!" shouted Andrew.

"Calm down," said the pilot.  The Landmasters opened fire on the transport and flak began exploding all around them.  The transport continued on its course until it landed on the ground.

"Standard Commando operating procedure.  Open fire on anything that approaches.  If they're enemy they'll take evasive maneuvers and as a result will hit the blasts, which aren't aimed at them anyway.  They'll destroy themselves as a result.  Irony, irony," said the pilot.  He pressed a couple buttons and exited into the massive bay as the doors opened.  Several members fully wrapped in cloth entered the bay and began removing the boxes and other crates.  The pilot ran out after them.

"I need someone to sign for this stuff!" he shouted as the creatures moved in and out oblivious to his presence.  Finally after the last box was removed, one creature walked up and made a giant red X through the page before walking off.  The pilot looked at it before walking back into the ship.

"Well that's that.  Have fun you guys," said the pilot as he boarded the ship.  It blasted off moments later leaving the team alone with the desert commandos.

Andrew gulped. "I don't want to die!"

"You're not going to die.  Remember, they're UVCAF just like we are.  Let's go introduce ourselves," said Fox hefting his bag and walking towards the tents.

"I'm looking for Colonel Jerry Mingham," said Fox to the commandos who were doing their own stuff.  They all looked at him through their fully covered bodies and pointed ominously at a single tent.  The team slowly entered the tent and saw a single individual, also fully covered sitting cross-legged at a low table pointing directly at them.

"Enter," said the creature in a dark raspy voice.  The team walked over and sat down in front of the table.

"Why have you entered our most sacred domain?" demanded the creature.

"Are you Colonel Jerry Mingham?" asked Fox.  The creature nodded.

"I am,"

"We've come because there is a nomadic tribe.  They're called The Fremen and we think that they might be around here," said Fox.  The figure laughed.

"Then here's a shock.  I'm not Jerry Mingham, he's been dead for two days.  We killed him and his team when they entered our land," said the voice even more ominously.

"What are you saying?" asked Andrew nearly white.

"**WE ARE THE FREMEN!**" shouted the figure quickly standing up as Andrew promptly fainted dead away.  The figure promptly threw back his robes to reveal a beaver underneath wearing a voice modulator on his face.  The beaver promptly threw it off and stepped over the fainted Andrew.

"Funny, I would've expected more from the nephew of our beloved Emperor," said Jerry laughing.  Fox and Leon laughed as well.  Jerry promptly extended his hand to Fox and Leon.

"I really am Jerry Mingham," he said in a normal voice.

"I'm Fox McCloud and this is Leon Powalski," said Fox.  Jerry shook both of their hands.

"It's an honor to meet you.  Your exploits during the Lylat War were very impressive to say the least.  You helped wrestle back control of the Lylat System from the vile General Pepper," said Jerry.  Fox shrugged.

"Yeah but we never had to worry about invading Titania.  We heard that you and your commandos managed to regain control of that planet back on your own with no reinforcements of any kind," said Fox.  Jerry shrugged.

"Pepper didn't leave that much of an occupation force on this planet to being with, but yes that's ultimately true.  We're nowhere near as bizarre as people think we are, we just put out that image.  We don't like dealing with incompetent commanders so most just leave us alone.  Andross and Hammer are the only really decent commanders in the UVCAF so we strictly try to deal with those two whenever possible," said Jerry walking out of the tent and into the blazing son.  Jerry stood there watching the horizon before squatting down and looking at tiny whisps of sand blowing across the ground.

"Damn," said Jerry.

"What?" Fox asked looking at the sky.  Jerry pulled out an airhorn and squeezed it letting loose a massive noise.  The commandos immediately rushed out into the camp and began collapsing tents and putting out fires.

"We've got a sandstorm on the way.  It's gonna be here in fifteen minutes and I want us packed up and in those Landmasters in seven.  Fox, you'll be in mine so we can discuss the Fremen.  Now let's move," said Jerry.  They both ran off and began shoving tents into Landmasters.  Seven minutes later the convoy moved off and eight minutes later the storm hit and began blasting the tanks.

"We'll be fine for now.  There's an outcropping of rocks we'll reach in about fifteen minutes or so and we'll wait it out there," said Jerry piloting the tank. "Now tell me about your interest in these Fremen.  They'd seem to fall beneath your radar as far as this invasion is concerned."

"Yeah well that was before we learned the truth about them," said Fox.

"Which is?" asked Jerry pressing a couple of buttons.

"That they're criminals from the Lylat System who escaped fifteen years ago and wound up here," said Fox.  Jerry nodded.

"That would explain a few things," he said.

"Such as?" asked Fox.  Jerry half turned to face him.

"We've had a couple of encounters with small pockets of them and they've attacked us with laser weaponry.  We lost sixteen members during the first attack, but no more after that," said Jerry.

"Ah.  But I didn't see you loading any caskets onto the ship to send home," said Fox.

"We didn't.  You see, we leave the dead to the sands," said Jerry.  Fox nodded.

"So what can you tell _me_ about the Fremen?" he asked.  Jerry pressed a couple buttons in the cockpit, which pulled up a holographic map with several dots on it.

"We were actually heading towards their main base of operations when you came upon us.  It's here in this massive rock," said Jerry.  The large bulbous dot indicating the Fremen base was quite away from the convoy.

"How long of a journey is that?" asked Fox.  Jerry pressed a couple more buttons that traced a route between the convoy and the base.

"Three days," said Jimmy.  Fox groaned.

"Three days?" he asked incredulously.  Jerry huffed at him.

"You fighter jocks are all the same; you want to be there fast and now.  Well too bad!  When Titania was taken over by Pepper's goons my team had a fifty-day trek over the harshest desert in the entire universe.  Do you think we complained?  No we didn't because we didn't have a choice and it had to be done.  Now three days is not a long time so back off!" said Jerry.  Fox held up his hands in defeat.

"Alright, alright.  You are being nice enough to transport us I'll give you that.  Three days, yeesh," said Fox under his breath.  A few minutes later the convoy pulled into a large cave underneath the massive rock and three Landmasters made a barricade against the outside forces while the commandos set up their camp again.

"Boy this is a treat, MRE's.  I haven't had one of these since I was back in basic," said Fox after Jerry tossed them all a few bars before sitting down with them and the rest of the commandos around a giant light since a fire would produce too much smoke for the cave.

"Then you've been missing out.  MRE's have come a long way since you were in basic," said Jerry.  He took a bite and immediately cringed. "Now they only slightly taste like crap."

"Ah the miracles of technology," said Fox coughing heavily after eating the thing.

"So what were you guys up to prior to the invasion?" asked Fox.

"Vacation," said one of the troops.  Leon laughed.

"No kidding.  Where do you take vacations at?" he asked.

"Aquas for most of us," said Jerry. "It's nice to get away from the desert every so often."

"So it is," said Fox. "So it is."

"How long do you figure we'll be here?" asked a soldier to Fox.

"Until Andross pulls us out.  Soon I would hope," said Fox.  The soldiers nodded.

"Yeah.  Invading planets is nice, but nothing beats home," said Jerry before looking at his watch. "Already, it's time to turn in.  Fox, you and your team are required to take watches as well during the night.  I hope you don't mind, commando policy."

"Not at all," said Fox shaking his head. "We're all UVCAF here, no one is above anyone else."

"Good, alright folks let's turn in," said Jerry. "They'll wake you when it's your turn."

And with that, the commandos and the team went to sleep as the storm continued raging outside and night began to fall for them.

Moon Mountain Pass: The silence of the Pass was shattered by the whine of dozens of fighters and two attack carriers.  The units of DPAF1 opened fire on the ground with the fighters approaching first and tearing up any creatures that were on the ground while the bombers came by next leveling the pass flat.

"Well that's that," said Bill.

"Not quite, we've got hostiles about fifteen miles south of us.  It looks like they're arming some building for a last stand," said Jimmy from the Attack Carrier above.

"Alright then, Husky, Bulldog units, let's take 'em out.  Pitbull Unit, do some more sweeps and then join up with us," said Bill.  The two fighter units then blasted off towards the base.

Base: Several dinos were setting up a pair of cannons on the roof of the building while others were tossing barrels down the valley leading to the fort.

"Now they'll never get to us," said Garunda Te.

"I don't know father, it seems to simple," said Belinda Te.  Garunda shrugged.

"All the best plans are," he said continuing to watch the valley.  For that exact second it was silent, but that silence was soon shattered by engine whine and blaster roar.

"Some fort," said Bill as his fighter flew overhead.

"It just goes to show how ill equipped these dinos were for our invasion.  After Dragon Rock and CloudRunner Fortress fell, they were left defenseless.  These small bases are the best they can come up with and they're pretty shoddy at that.  A couple days tops and this world is ours," said Sanders.  Two plumes of smoke were seen on the roof of the base and a second later two cannonballs were seen.

"Evasive maneuvers!" shouted Bill.  The two fighters barrel roared apart as the two cannonballs soared past and smashed into Attack Carrier 1.  The ensuing explosion managed to wipe out two fighters nearby, but the Attack Carrier was only burnt.

"Well I guess there's no real point in holding back is there?" Bill asked.

"Nope," said Sanders. "All units open fire!" shouted Sanders.  The twenty-two remaining fighters roared over the base and tore it to pieces while the Attack Carriers unleashed a missile barrage that vaporized the base and sent smoke billowing upwards partially obscuring Volcano Force Point Temple beyond it.

"We've got runners!" said Jimmy looking at his HUD displaying several body signs moving towards the temple.  Bill pressed a couple buttons in his cockpit and hit the boosters; roaring to the temple.

"Let's pick 'em off!  No enemy can be left unharmed to continue the fight!" he said.  His fighter along with Sanders roared overhead and began picking off the dinos who were running to the temple.  Several Lightfoot and BoneClaw's were all mowed down on the way to the temple as several fighters descended like vultures on the runners.  As they ran over the bridge, Sanders' fighter moved alongside plowing down a pair of EarthWalkers, but still several managed to reach sanctuary in the Temple including the two SnowHorns.

"Damn.  All fighters land, we're going in there on foot," said Bill.  The remaining fighters landed and the pilots exited their craft and checked their weapons.

"Let's move!" shouted Bill as he made his way over the bridge above the lava while the two Attack Carriers landed behind them with a massive roar and shut down.  Bill and his team entered into the temple and quickly ran down various corridors trying to locate the dinos inside the temple, but all they got were fleeting glimpses of them.  After fifteen minutes of nothing, Bill finally decided to give up.

"Ah to hell with this!" he said finally. "If they want to stay here, then they can stay here!  Let's go I'm not wasting another minute here!"

The pilots filed out of the temple and the dinos watched them go.

"Ha, free at last.  This is how we'll do things from now on, hide and survive," said Garunda.

Twenty minutes later: Bill and the pilots exited the temple as Pitbull Unit began landing as well.  Bill and Sanders were the last ones to leave the temple as Jimmy ran up to them.

"Is that it?  Are you going to let them stay indefinitely?" he asked incredulously.  Bill looked at him as if that was the stupidest question ever.

"Yes," he said shaking his head and walking off with Sanders.  Jimmy looked at them utterly confused before turning to look at the temple.  The exact second he did, the temple exploded flinging debris everywhere and Jimmy went flying backwards due to the blast.  Smoke and fire began to pour out of the temple as it and the canyon wall it was built into collapsed.  Sanders and Bill ran back and helped the shell shocked Jimmy to his feet.

"You okay?" asked Sanders with a smile.  Jimmy just looked at the destruction wide-eyed.

"What the hell was that!" exclaimed Jimmy.  Bill stood there contemplating the ruined temple before turning around.

"Smart Bomb I think," said Bill.

"Smart Bomb?" asked Jimmy.  Sanders came up behind him.

"Oh yeah.  Smart Bombs frequent this area and are known for their most vicious attack, urban renewal," said Sanders.  Jimmy just shook his head.

"You're both crazy.  So what now?  Where's this Warpstone we're supposed to find?" Jimmy asked.  Bill looked around the valley but could find nothing of note.

"I have no idea," he said pondering their situation.

Forest: Several birds took to the sky as a tree came crashing down followed by a Landmaster flattening it as the Red Hammer army pressed on to the Walled City.

"Another mile passed, another mile closer," said Anklor.  They continued rumbling through the jungle when suddenly the Landmaster began shaking every so often.

"That's odd, must be the clutch.  All units power down!" shouted Anklor.  The convoy shut down, but the shaking still continued.

"Odd, very odd," said Anklor finally.  Then a roar was heard over the trees and more birds took to the sky.  Suddenly a RedEye poked its head over the trees.

"Aaaahhhh!" shouted Anklor and the team as the RedEye charged.  The barrel of one of the Landmasters raised and fired at the RedEye blasting its head off while spraying the team with a mist of blood.

"It charged us, you all saw that!" shouted Anklor wide-eyed.  Suddenly more roars pierced the otherwise quiet afternoon.

"Oh…shit!" shouted Porpoise as the ground really started rumbling.

"Run for it!" shouted Greg as several RedEye poked their heads over the trees and roared at the convoy, which quickly boosted off just staying one step ahead of the T-Rex wolfpack.

ThornTail Hollow: Shabunga and Jeff both walked into Hammer's office on board _The Mantia 01_.

"What's up?" asked Shabunga taking a seat.  Hammer had a large dossier on his desk that he had just stopped rummaging through.

"We are about to engage in the long and complex process of obtaining Jeff a voucher for entry into the UVCAF," said Hammer.

"I'll vouch for him," said Shabunga.  Hammer slammed the dossier shut.

"Good.  Well that's that," he said putting the folder away.

"Is that it?" asked Jeff incredulously.  Hammer shook his head.

"No," said Hammer.

"Phew," said Jeff.

"I need you and Shabunga to head down to Moon Mountain Pass to try and help DPAF1 locate the Warpstone," said Hammer.  Jeff's eyes went wide-open.

"So that literally is all to the voucher process?" asked Jeff.  Hammer nodded.

"Yes," he said.  Jeff moved his head back and forth in confusion before slamming his fist on the table.

"Works for me.  Shabunga let's go find us a Warpstone," said Jeff turning to leave.

"Oh one more thing," said Hammer. "Don't interact with it, Andross just wants to know where it is.  He'll talk to it on his own terms and doesn't want that 'thing' taking off anywhere."

"Okay," said Shabunga and Jeff heading off for the bay.  Hammer pressed a button and a holographic Andross popped up.

"Everything's going as planned," he said to the hologram.  Andross nodded.

"Excellent.  Hopefully within a week, the Warpstone will be found, the Fremen will be dead, and _he_ will be a distant memory," said Andross.

"To success," said Hammer.

"To success.  To the death of Calhoun," said Andross.  And with that the transmission ended and Andross ship roared into the Lylat System.  Andross then walked into the back where the Krazoa Spirit was trapped in a cage.  Andross leaned at it and looked at the Spirit.

"Are you ready, because it's time for you to die.  I wish things didn't have to be this way, but in order to make sure Calhoun doesn't come back we all have to make sacrifices.  Thank you for allowing us to make yours," said Andross as the ship continued on to Venom.


	7. Eve on the final battles?

Venom: Andross' vessel _Monkey Mayhem_ roared into the atmosphere towards Venomia City.

"Ah home sweet home," said Andross leaning back in his chair.

"Welcome back Emperor," said Powell over the comm.  Andross waved him off with his hand.

"Powell I simply don't have the time.  I need immediate clearance to land at the University of Venomia," said Andross as the ship roared down through Venom's atmosphere.

"Yes sir you're cleared.  Do you at least want the latest results from the invasion of the Beta Reticuli System?" asked Powell.  Andross grumbled something before hitting the transmit button.

"Fine!  Now leave me alone!" he shouted.

"Yes, Emperor," said Powell as the comm. switched off.  Andross sighed and held his head.  Finally he just held out his hands and shook his head very fast to clear the cobwebs.

"First thing's first.  Bye, bye Krazoa Spirits, hello old life of invading systems," he said.  A light bleeped and Andross pulled out a PDA with the invasion info on it just as the ship touched down in the middle of the beautiful college campus.  The sun was shining, wind whistled through the green trees, birds chirped, and students went to their various classes oblivious to what was going on in Dinosaur Planet.

"_And hopefully it will stay that way.  This is what I am attempting to save by preventing Calhoun's resurrection,_" thought Andross.  The troops put a large box around the cage and put it on a dolly and pushed it out of the bay and into the campus.

"Let's get this to Albatross Einstein," said Andross slapping the box as the troops hauled it off.

"Oh my God it's the Emperor!" someone shouted.  Andross spun and saw a small group of college females and males running up to him.  Andross sighed and shook his head in humility as they swarmed him.

"What brings you to our esteemed campus Emperor?" asked a student.  Andross shrugged.

"Just checking up on the Lylat System's future.  I only want the best for the UVCAF and if you go to this college then you would be among the best," said the Emperor truthfully.  The small group of students seemed to beam at the complement. "I hate to leave so soon, but I have official business."

"Will you at least sign our yearbooks?" asked one of the students.  The others nodded as well exuberantly.  Andross held up his hand in defeat.

"Well if you insist," he said finally.  Andross signed their yearbooks on the photo that showed him as founder of the university before dismissing them and catching up to the crate.  The team finally hauled the crate into the biosciences building and through it onto a massive stage where Alby(Albatross Einstein's nickname) was teaching his students.  He watched the Emperor come in, but Andross quickly made a gesture for him to finish up his class.

"So as you can see," said Alby pointing to the board. "With the right knowledge, it doesn't matter what you encounter among the stars, you will be able to deal with anything that comes up in the field.  And speaking of being in the field, we have a very special observer today, our Emperor of the UVCAF forces, Andross!"

Andross waved his hand to the student body and was going to leave it at that when they started chanting for him to speak.  Andross shrugged and walked up to the podium where as soon as he reached it the chanting stopped.

"So you want me to speak?  Well, I guess I can't argue with that.  After all, I don't know if I'll be able to speak at graduation this year with so much going on at the moment," said Andross as a series of boos erupted from the crowd to this last statement. "Yes, I know I'm sorry.  But you shouldn't be.  We're in a series of rapid expansion, but territorially and scientifically.  We're learning new things all the time with each world we conquer, knowledge that will go to benefit us all.  I'm sorry I don't have anything prepared at the moment; so I'll just speak openly and honestly.  I want you all to know, that you're in a very interesting and exciting field.  Biology is a fascinating subject and will be one of the things that the UVCAF will be looking to expand its current knowledge of.  It's not just for conquest but also for genuine knowledge.  After all, what is the importance of knowledge?"

"Knowledge is power!" the crowd chanted over and over again until Andross silenced them.

"Yes, knowledge is power.  But you have to understand that too much knowledge is a bad thing because power can corrupt even the brightest individual.  Now why am I mentioning this?  It's simple.  I want to anticipate a problem that you are probably worried about right now.  You're worried about the UVCAF seizing your research for various reasons.  I know it's disappointing, but ultimately it has to be done.  We have to protect the masses; that's what's important.  Some knowledge is ultimately too dangerous for public use.  Now we don't seize a lot of information, believe me you'll know when you've gone too far and that's when we seize it.  But know this," said Andross firmly with the crowd on the edge of their seats. "We might take you information from you, but we will never pass it off as our own.  Your research that you publish is your own, nobody else's.  For the UVCAF to say it was their idea is thievery and I cannot and will not allow that.  Now when you go out into society or the UVCAF, I want you to always remember one statement.  Ask not what the UVCAF can do for you, but ask what you can do for the UVCAF!  Because in the end any knowledge that you pump into the UVCAF will benefit not only you but everyone!"

And with that the room erupted into a standing ovation with cheers and heavy clapping.  Andross smiled and waved at the audience before walking over to Alby.

"Inside that box is a Krazoa Spirit.  I want it dead within the week.  Do whatever research you want along the way but your primary directive is to make that thing cease to exist," said Andross.  Alby nodded, shook Andross' hand, and both parted ways.

Great Dino Desert: The wind blew across the sand in the face of the cloudless blue day.  A group of Fremen was enjoying a meal next to their jetbikes.

"What a beautiful day.  No sandstorms in sight," said one of them.

"Yes, absolutely perfect," said another one helping himself to some noodles in a central pot.  A small puff of smoke was seen in the distance just above the sand.

"What was that?" asked one of the Fremen.

"I dunno, probably nothing," said another.  Then a whistling noise was heard.

"Damn my ears are ringing!" shouted one of them.

"Mine too," yelled another.  A small object arced through the air before smashing down into the pot and embedding in the ground.

"The hell is that?" asked the youngest of the group.  The eldest looked over the device before hearing the whirring and realizing what it was.

"Oh my God it's a," said the creature running away but that's all that it got out as the device exploded blasting the Fremen group to pieces as more explosions rang out around the encampment while a dozen miles away, the Landmaster convoy made its way across the desert towards the small camp.

"Excellent shot," said Jerry. "Excellent shot."

Fox slammed the periscope up into the tank ceiling.

"It's just simple physics or in the case shooting fish in a barrel," he said.  The Landmasters around them began firing more blasts at the encampment as two creatures tried desperately to start a damaged jetbike.

"Physics or no physics, to get that timed bomb to slam down in the middle of their embankment was pure skill.  You ever consider joining the commandos?" asked Jerry.  Fox laughed.

"Not a chance.  I only have one mistress and that's the air.  I only use the ground when I have to," said Fox.  Jerry laughed.

"Get your head out of the clouds McCloud, the ground is where it's at.  History is written on the land, not in the skies," said Jerry.

"You gotta stop leaving in two-dimensions.  Three dimensions is where it's at," said Fox.

"I'll show you three dimensions," said Jerry.  He pressed a couple of buttons and the Landmaster shot into the sky giving a wider view of the desert before settling down again.

"Besides, three dimensions means more ways to be attacked.  Two dimensions is much more safe," said Jerry.

"To each their own," said Fox. "To each their own."

"I'll live with that," said Jerry nodding. "You'll always love the sky and I'll always love the land.  They both have their dangers and their rewards."

"True, true.  I'll drink to that.  If we make it to the Fremen HQ in one piece," said Fox.  Jerry nodded.

"Yes, I've been a little bit troubled by the lack of outposts just a day and a half from their base.  I hope we're moving towards the right target," said Jerry pressing a couple buttons on his tank.

"Yeah, either that or they're complete idiots or they have no idea that we're coming," said Fox.

"If we haven't seen anything major by tomorrow morning I'm going to risk it and call in a reconnaissance bird even if it gets downed by a storm.  I don't like lack of response, it troubles me," said Jerry.

"Yeah," said Fox when the radar started beeping. "Looks like we've got another encampment about twenty miles away at about twenty degrees to our north.  This one looks larger than the rest."

"Excellent, maybe now we'll get some real action," said Jerry gunning the engine and kicking the tank forward along with the rest of the convoy.

Nighttime in RedEye Jungle(the jungle and the desert are far enough away that in one place it's day while in the other it's night): "I think they're sleeping," said Samson out of breath.  Anklor was still shaking wide-eyed from the massive wall of RedEyes they'd just faced.  Thirty-five dinos had attacked them and he'd lost three Landmasters and several troops, at least a third of his army was gone.

"So many teeth all ripping, gnashing, and gnarling," said Anklor in a daze.  Porpoise rolled his eyes at him.

"What're we gonna do about him?" he asked.  Greg laughed.

"I have an idea," he said.  He produced Anklor's sword and smacked Anklor upside the head with the handle of it.

"Damn that was a hell of a fight, but we got through it and hopefully they'll think twice before engaging us tomorrow," said Anklor confidently.  The others just shook their heads before either going to sleep.  Anklor meanwhile began grinding his sword until it was razor sharp before finally turning in.  Several miles away, the RedEyes were also snoozing, preparing for a massacre in the morning.

Moon Mountain Pass: DPAF1 had just finished setting up camp for the night when Jeff and Shabunga arrived.

"Ah Jeff, it's good to see you got your voucher.  Welcome to the UVCAF," said Bill shaking Jeff's hand.

"Thanks it's an honor to finally be working officially with you guys," said Jeff.  Bill nodded.

"So you two are our resident Warpstone experts.  So what do you think?  Can you find us a Warpstone tomorrow morning?" asked Bill with a smile.

"That's what we hope to accomplish," said Jeff also with a smile.  Bill nodded.

"Good, good.  You two had better turn in for the night, we want to make sure you have all your wits about tomorrow.  Well, good night," said Bill.  Shabunga and Jeff nodded before entering into a vacant tent and getting some sleep.

Venom: Andross sat at his private estate on the balcony reading the notes from the current invasion, which was proceeding exactly as planned.  An aide walked up to him and handed him another PDA.

"Last report from Dinosaur Planet before _The Mantia 01_ slips into darkness," said the aide.  Andross read it while sipping his Pina Colada before putting it away.

"_So far, so good.  Everything is going as planned,_" he thought before turning in to get some well deserved rest.

Great Dino Desert: A large explosion blasted a Landmaster away as the convoy continued advancing forward and firing at a well-armed fortress.

"Ah I love the smell of plasma in the morning!  Units 5-9 cut away and circle behind them.  This pincer movement will take them apart!" shouted Jerry over the comm.  Fox continued to aim the cannon and fire charged plasma at the fortress, slowly but surely taking the gun emplacements offline.

"We can't keep this up much longer, we have to find a way inside those protective walls!" shouted Fox.  The base had fifteen-foot high walls surrounding it with gun emplacements on top shooting at the commandos.

"Yeah," said Jerry toggling the comm. switch. "Attention all units, link your targeting computers to mine we're all going to aim at one section of the wall and blast it apart.  Fox here will be leading commando groups three and four into that wall to eliminate the resistance inside."

"Works for me," said Fox pulling out his blaster rifle and checking the charge on it. "I'm good."

"I'm going to take the commandos piloting the Landmasters and conduct a ring of fire around this place.  You just get in there and kill the power supply along with the Fremen in there," said Jerry. "Alright because here we go!"

The remaining Landmasters let loose with their ordnance at the wall, which stood up for a few moments before it finally collapsed.  Fox snapped open the hatch and leapt off the moving Landmaster.  He landed with a roll on the ground before picking himself up and running for the hole in the wall.  Fox and the Commandos burst into the circular base firing at anything they saw.

"Find the power generator!" shouted Fox picking off a couple more Fremen.  Inside the fortress was utter chaos.  It was mostly just empty space inside with all the weaponry on the walls, but there were a couple small buildings along with some tents.  Laser fire roared everywhere around them from all sides including the explosions hammering the base from outside.  The Commandos spread out as Fox, Leon, and Andrew began searching the buildings for the generator while outside the Landmasters were doing barrel rolls around the base while continuing to fire at the gun emplacements.

"C'mon where the hell is that generator?" asked Fox about to enter into another building when a woman burst out carrying a child in her arms.

"Hi," said Fox before firing, blasting the woman backwards.  She fell back into the tent with her arms flailing before she finally died.  Fox and the others walked into the tent where a dozen child sat wild eyed and scared about what was going on outside.

"Well, well.  Future evildoers," said Leon shaking his head.  Fox sighed.

"So young and yet so evil," he said.  Andrew turned to face them.

"So what do we do about them?" he asked.  Fox looked at him nonplussed.

"You know the rules, no enemy shall be left unharmed.  Their parents and grandparents were among the worshippers of Calhoun.  As such these kids are being raised on the glorification of that madman.  They're too far gone already to be turned back," said Fox.

"How do you know they're Calhoun worshippers?" asked Andrew.  Fox pointed his finger at a tapestry across the room, which depicted the billygoat as a massive creature with a sun behind and people bowing to it in worship.

"Oh," said Andrew. "Well that clears my conscience!"

"Good," said Fox.  He pulled out a grenade and set it on the floor before exiting the tent.

"Andrew, I know we've had this talk before but it appears we need to have it again," said Fox as the tent exploded. "There are many things you can afford by being a member of the UVCAF, but one thing you can't afford is."

"A conscience.  I know," said Andrew over the screams erupting from the burning tent.

"You've just got to be careful.  We've…hold on a sec," said Fox.  He aimed his blaster at the tent and fired a bolt silencing the scream. "We've lost a lot of good people to a conscience.  A conscience in battle can corrupt you believe me I know.  I almost succumbed to my conscience right before the war during the whole 'the dreamers' incident.  It was a tough road, but ultimately I overcame it and pulled through in time to take the battle to General Pepper.  You just need to be careful, I don't want to see you go insane or worse go rogue.  That would make the Emperor look bad by having his nephew go crazy and I cannot and will not allow that."

"Yeah," said Andrew shaking his head. "Thanks Fox."

The team was subsequently knocked off their feet as a massive explosion caused the whole compound to shift.  After a few moments the shaking subsided and the team managed to pick themselves off the floor.

"The Generator is now permanently offline," said a soldier over the comm.  Fox swung up his blaster.

"Let's rock and roll!" he shouted before running off into the thick of battle between the UVCAF and Fremen as a couple Landmasters roared over the wall and opened fire inside the base.  Laser blasts erupted from both sides for several more minutes until finally the battle was over.  Fox and the commandos stood in the middle of the base with a fine mist of blood on them and rage in their eyes.  Fifty Fremen were did and twelve commandos had perished in the fray.  Jerry finally entered into the base with his Landmaster and parked next to the rest of the tanks.  He exited and looked at Fox who was silent.

"What a waste," said Fox shaking his head at the commandos who had been laid out on the ground with sheets over them. "But at least they died taking the fight to the enemy, we should all be so lucky."

Jerry nodded looking at the pile of Fremen bodies that had just been tossed together.

"I guess we'd better prepare for a burial," said Jerry walking off to make the arrangements.  Fox and Co. were sitting in a circle on some chairs a few minutes later watching the pile of Fremen burning, pouring smoke high into the sky when a soldier approached them.

"Sir, we have something to show you in the Fremen medical tent," said the soldier.  Fox shrugged nonchalantly and followed him to the bay along with the team.  Inside the tent they found it to be utterly empty except for one individual on a gurney hooked up to life support monitors.  It was the blue Cerinian Krystal.  Fox shook his head.

"Well, well, well.  We meet again," said Fox taking a seat next to her along with the team.

"Colonel Mingham is busy elsewhere trying to rig up a temporary power supply for the base to protect us since we're staying the night so I figured I'd report this to you," said the soldier.  Fox nodded.

"You made the right choice soldier.  You can leave now," said Fox.  The soldier cocked his head at them before exiting the bay.  Fox propped his rifle up next to the gurney while the team took seats all around her.  Leon rummaged through the tent's supplies before producing a syringe.  He tapped it a few times before handing it to Fox who looked it over.

"A spinal suppressor.  So they do have at least some current medical supplies," said Andrew.

"I wouldn't say that.  Calhoun was notorious for using these on any interrogation.  The subject couldn't move a muscle, much less run away, but they could still feel the terrible pain from the interrogation," said Fox. "Well, flip her over.  I don't want her waking up and causing trouble."

Andrew and Leon undid her restraints and moved her onto her side and Fox jammed the thing into her spine and depressed the syringe.  Andrew and Leon moved her back onto her back and reapplied the restraints while Fox went through her medical chart.

"I'm amazed she survived that fall," Leon said.

"She's a Cerinian.  Together with their staff they're a dangerous combination.  Not for the UVCAF, but any unsuspecting fool might be in for a surprise," said Fox tossing her chart onto a nearby desk.

"Well here's her staff," said Andrew holding up the mangled wreck of the thing.  Fox looked it over before tossing it in a nearby garbage can.

"Hokey religions and ancient weapons are no match for a good blaster at your side," he said.  Jerry walked into the tent with a clipboard and sat down at the foot of Krystal's bed.

"Who's this?" he asked pointing to Crystal while drinking some water from a canteen.

"Cerinian.  We ran into her earlier at the start of the mission.  We thought we killed her then but apparently not," said Fox.  Jerry looked at the life support monitor then at the Cerinian then at Fox confused.

"She shot at us," said Fox explaining why they were still keeping her alive.

"Ah," said Jerry understanding.

"So what's up?" asked Fox.  Jerry hefted his clipboard up with his knee before turning to Fox.

"We uncovered some disturbing facts about this group of criminals.  They were Calhoun worshippers," said Jerry with disgust showing a tattered piece of cloth showing Calhoun standing above the people like a God.

"Yeah," said Fox nonchalantly, trying to show no sign of nervousness. "We encountered another tapestry in one of the tents."

"I could've sworn Andross killed them all but apparently not.  Well at least this gives us a more legitimate reason to eliminate them all," said Jerry finishing off his water. "We'll be burying the commandos at 0800 and we'll be spending the night here.  Don't worry we'll still reach the Fremen HQ in two more days, that's not a problem.  It's just that this is the best defensible position for miles and we'll take whatever we can.  Look, when you're done with the Cerinian, I need to talk with you about some intelligence we've obtained from this base regarding current Fremen locations."

With that, Jerry exited the tent into the midday sun.  After he left, Fox turned back to the team.

"You didn't happen to find any adrenaline did you?" asked Fox.  Leon nodded and produced a second syringe.  Fox pointed and Leon injected it into a vein on her arm.  Instantly Krystal's eyes opened.

"Remember us?" asked Fox.  Krystal looked from him to Leon and finally to Andrew who waved.

"Howdy," Andrew said with a wave.  Krystal sneered at all of them.

"Who are you?  What do you want?" she demanded.  Fox and Co. laughed.

"Want?  We don't _want_ anything!  We order you to tell us what you're doing here," said Fox.

"I'll never tell you," she said before spitting at them.  But since she was dehydrated nothing came out.  Fox meanwhile poured a cup of water from his thermos and sat it on a desk right next to her.

"If you can pick this up we'll let you go," said Fox.  He undid her restraints and laughed as she tried to move her arms but couldn't.

"Something wrong?" asked Leon laughing as Krystal's eyes almost turned red with rage.

"What've you done to me?" she demanded.  Fox looked at her with mock confusion on his face.

"What're you talking about?  We haven't done anything!" he said with mock surprise.

"Why are you torturing me?" she demanded. "What did I do to you?"

Fox yanked her up so they were face to face. "You fired on us and you lived.  That is what you did."

"I don't know what you're talking about!" she said.

"Several days ago you opened fire on three UVCAF fighters, that was us!" shouted Fox before tossing her back down on the gurney.  Krystal's eyes first had the look of shock on them before turning to anger.

"You killed Kyte!  He was my best friend!" she said angrily with tears in her eyes.

"Save it for someone who cares," said Fox. "**Now why are you here?**"

"Krystal turned her head away from them but said nothing.  Fox shrugged.

"Alright, don't say I didn't warn you.  We have ways of obtaining information from you through torture.  Leon set up," said Fox taking the cup of water and drinking from it.  Leon meanwhile opened up his bag and pulled out an electric board with several wires from it.  Leon tapped two of the wires together and they emitted a spark.

"Guess that means the battery is working," Leon said nonchalantly.  He attached the wires to Krystal's temples while Andrew attached restraints to her head so she couldn't move.

"Why are you here?" asked Fox.

"Die," said Krystal.  Leon connected the circuit and several volts flowed through her body causing her to yell in pain.  Finally after an entire minute of shocks, Leon disconnected the circuit.

"Five more shocks like that at a minute apiece and your heart will stop.  Now you have five more chances of answering my question.  Although keep in mind that after the fourth shock you will be a vegetable," said Fox. "Why are you here?'

"To defeat the UVCAF," she said with a smile.  Fox smiled back and Leon shocked her again for another minute.

"That was the answer," she said as foam started to come out of her mouth and some of her muscles twitched involuntarily.

"No it wasn't," said Fox laughing. "You were here before we got here and Andross never reveals the planet he invades before it happens.  Try again."

"No," she said.  Fox sighed.

"Do you really have a death wish?" he asked curious. "Because if you do I'll just kill you right now so we can save on the battery charge."

Fox pulled out his blaster rifle and pointed it at Krystal's face.

"You won't shoot me," she said laughing.  Fox nodded and lowered the rifle.

"You're right I won't," he said nodding his head.  Fox then aimed his rifle and shot her in the arm.  Krystal roared out in pain for the next few moments before the commando's resident doctor walked into the tent.

"Hello," he said ignoring Krystal's cries as he began rummaging through the cabinets taking whatever medical supplies he could while Krystal finally calmed down and just began weeping.  The doctor continued rummaging through some more cabinets.

"There wasn't any adrenalin in here was there?" asked the doctor.

"Sorry doctor, I think we used up the last of it waking her up," said Fox pointing to their 'patient'.  The doctor shrugged.

"I have enough for now, it's just that it wouldn't hurt to have some surplus supplies.  When you fight in the desert you have to take everything you can get your hands on," said the doctor.  Fox nodded.

"Yeah, we're really sorry about that," said Fox sincerely. "It won't happen again."

The doctor waved him off. "Don't worry about it.  So, do you need any help with your patient?"

"No," said Fox. "But if anything happens we'll let you know."

"Works for me," said the doctor preparing to leave.  On the way out he did a quick visual examination of Krystal.

"I'd be careful," he said pointing to Krystal's blaster wound. "That could develop into gangrene if not treated soon."

"Help me," said Krystal in a lot of pain and foam in her mouth.  The doctor crossed his arms.

"I'd love to, but you're the enemy.  Confess and I'll be able to treat you," said the doctor.  He then placed a thermos on the counter next to her. "When you finally confess to whatever Commander McCloud wants to know, then drink this and you'll feel a lot better.  Gentlemen."

And with that the Doctor exited the tent heading out to the rest of the team to treat their injuries.

"Well?" asked Fox.  Krystal sighed, what choice did she have.

"Fine!  But only if you promise to let me live," she said.  Fox nodded.

"I promise," he said. "It's against the UVCAF law to lie while on duty."

"I came here because I received a distress call from this area.  I landed and discovered the Fremen.  They told me their master had to be found soon or evil forces would come and he would die.  They wanted me to search Krazoa Palace to find him but **you** intercepted me before I got there.  Anyway, I barely managed to save myself from dying but it cost me my staff as a result.  The Fremen found me in a massive crater in the Great Dino Desert and they were attempting to nurse me back to health when **you** returned.  But they told me that their master had visited them when I was gone so I didn't need to have gone after all.  That's why I'm here and how I wound up here.  Now take these things off me," said Krystal.  Fox nodded.

"This master, did he have a name?" he asked unhooking the electrodes.  Krystal attempted to shrug but couldn't.

"He did, but the Fremen never told me.  It was some secret no foreigner should ever know," she said.  Fox sighed.

"Well thank you.  Now here's something to drink," said Fox pouring some of the liquid that was in the thermos that the doctor had left behind.  He poured it into Krystal's mouth and she drank it before settling back to sleep.  Fox and Co. watched her heart monitor fall flat before collecting the thermos and electroschocks.

"Well that's that," Fox said with a smirk. "We found out what we needed to know.  Oh and Krystal one more thing.  I said that we don't lie on duty.  That's true, but I forgot to add that doesn't include lying to the enemy."

The team left the tent and walked over to the doctor.  The doctor watched them with a grin.

"Is she feeling better?" he asked sitting on a crate.  Fox nodded handing him back his thermos.

"Yeah she is.  This is some strong stuff," Fox said.

"My own potent blend," said the doctor.

"What about the Hippocratic Oath?" asked Fox half-seriously.  The doctor laughed.

"Please.  You know the Hippocratic Oath doesn't apply to the enemy.  Now if you have a moment Jerry wants to see you," said the doctor continuing to treat the troops.  Fox nodded and walked off with Leon and Andrew.  They found Jerry sitting at a table looking over some charts as he was making notes on them.

"Colonel what's up?" asked Fox.  Jerry looked up at them.

"Did you find what you needed to know?" he asked.  Fox nodded.

"Yep.  So you have intel?" Fox asked.  Jerry nodded turning the massive map around.

"What we have here is the location of their HQ and the two other bases like this one.  Thankfully they're placed strategically enough that we won't have to worry about them.  But the HQ, that's where the fun is.  It's got mines, ditches, heavy weapons, and countless other goodies that would easily overwhelm what we currently possess," said Jerry.

"So is that it.  Are we not going to invade?" asked Fox sitting back in his chair a little upset.

"Of course we are!  I can't resist a challenge and neither can you," said Jerry.  Fox looked at him like he was a little crazy.

"Challenge or no challenge.  If we attack we will be killed regardless of how much skill we possess," said Fox.  Jerry laughed.

"Yes but we have friends in high places," said Jerry. "More specifically a Grazan Class vessel in geo-synchronous orbit ready to unleash hell on any spot we choose."

"Impressive.  I stand corrected.  Now I feel prepared," said Fox.

"Good because we're actually attacking them tomorrow.  The base is much closer than I originally thought and we'll reach it tomorrow afternoon," said Jerry.

"That's very good.  But are you sure this map is authentic?  It could be fake," said Fox.  Jerry nodded.

"We already found the fake map and torched it.  It was on a PDA and thankfully these geniuses simply don't have the time to fake more than one written map.  They're operating on strategies forty years old," said Jerry rolling up the map. "Anyway, we're about to bury the bodies so let's go."

Jerry and the Starfox Team walked out of the gash in the wall and walked towards the unmarked graves in the desert.  Jerry stood on a makeshift podium in front of the graves facing the commandos sitting on some steel folding chairs.

"Death, it's not something we enjoy facing but it's an ultimate fact of life.  These men died in the heat of battle and that's the greatest honor a soldier can achieve.  We all want to die one day in battle but until then we've got to give all we've got until we're bloody, sweaty, and tired beyond belief in the heat of battle.  On that day, we will have achieved perfect bliss like these men did.  Fox, will you please say something," said Jerry stepping off the podium.  Fox nodded and walked up to it and face the troops.

"I didn't know these men for very long.  I couldn't tell you their favorite color or who is in their families but that's not important.  I fought alongside these men and that's good all I needed to know about them.  They gave their lives in the service of the UVCAF and for that they are better than me, Fox McCloud.  I will always remember their sacrifice and I promise you the Fremen will pay for what they did.  None of them will survive this upcoming battle I promise you that!  Those bastards are going to pay and I swear to you they will never forget the name UVCAF.  Remember, our lives our forfeit to the Emperor and only in battle can they be redeemed.  Tomorrow we are going to be an unstoppable force to be reckoned with and when we're done no Fremen will be left unharmed.  To the UVCAF!  To victory!" shouted Fox raising his rifle over his head to the massive cheers of the troops.

"Salute!" Guns fired. "Salute!" Guns fired. "Salute!" Guns fired.

"And never forget," said Fox finally. "That risk is our business.  Get a good night's sleep, tomorrow we unleash hell."


	8. Dinosaur Planet Falls

RedEye Forest, morning: Smoke billowed into the air from the stamped out fire pit of the Red Hammer.  Anklor sleepily woke up and stretched while yawning.

"Ah the blissful fifteen seconds before I realize why we're out here.  Oh yeah that's right, attacking the Walled City," said Anklor nodding. "But wasn't their something else?"

RedEye roars pierced the dew filled morning air and the ground started rumbling.

"Oh no!  Run!" shouted Caiman running to his tank.  Anklor quickly ran to his and the convoy quickly peeled off as a pair of RedEye's crashed through the jungle where their camp had been and roared at them.  But as their mouths were open at their fullest, a pair of missiles streaked out of nowhere and roared down their throats before exploding and showering the former campsite with blood and guts.

"Never stare a gift horse in the mouth, it'll only bite back," said Anklor quickly throwing his Landmaster in a 180 degree turn to move forward along with the convoy.  More RedEye roars emitted as a couple more crashed out of the jungle, witnessed their dead colleagues, and charged after the convoy.

Fifteen miles away: The Walled City was being barricaded as the last stronghold for the dinosaurs.  At the moment a pair of EarthWalkers were holding up some boards with their snouts while LightFeet and BoneClaw's hammered them into place at the City's entrance.  Ironically it was perhaps the first time the dinos had worked together yet it would probably be the last time with the invasion going on.  Up on top of the central pyramid the Queen EarthWalker and Tricky watched the barricades being put in as well as other dinosaurs hustling in dino refugees, including two covered in robes.

"We're almost at full capacity mom," said Tricky.  The Queen sighed.

"We have to cram in as many as we can.  If we have to we'll shove them into the Sun and Moon temples as well.  It won't be as well defended but it'll at least provide some shelter," she said.  They both jumped as they heard RedEye roars erupting from the jungle as well as small thuds emanating as well.

"Something's spooked them and now they're on the warpath," said the Queen.  A massive explosion went off in the jungle blasting a couple trees sky high.

"Wow," said Tricky wide-eyed.  The Queen shook her head.

"Even despite the RedEye's attacking them, they're still getting closer," said the Queen shaking her head. "They're too resilient."

"Who?" Tricky asked confused.  The Queen looked down at her progeny.

"There's an UVCAF attack force on the way.  Luckily the RedEye's are slowing them down but they're still coming," said the Queen shaking her head.  "I fear for us all."

"Don't worry mom, I'll protect you," said Tricky jumping back and forth in anticipation.

"Thank you son.  Now go down below with the others in the shelter," said the Queen.  Tricky looked like he wanted to stay, but he reluctantly left to the bottom of the pyramid.

"God save us all," said the Queen still hearing the continuous barrage and RedEye's roaring in the distance.

Moon Mountain Pass in front of the remains of Volcano Force Point Temple: Shabunga and Jeff were looking over a paper map from Shabunga's store with Bill and Sanders on one side and them on the other.  All around them, the pilots were conducting marching drills and other things that didn't involve flying lest they tip off the Warpstone to their presence.  Jimmy meanwhile was conducting inspections on the two Attack Carriers to make sure nothing was wrong with them.

"I figure he's got to be somewhere off the beaten path to the temple.  If not the pilots would've spotted him," said Jeff to Shabunga.  Shabunga nodded.

"Yes but there's not too many spaces off Moon Mountain Pass that would house something as large as a Warpstone," said Shabunga.  Bill purposely cleared his throat to get their attention.

"How do you even know that 'thing' is still here?  It could've up and left if it heard about the invasion," said Bill.  Shabunga and Jeff looked at each other and began laughing.

"What?" Bill demanded.  Jeff waved his concerns off.

"It's nothing," he said. "It's just that you don't know what the Warpstone is.  It's basically a massive torso made out of rock that can talk and has limited range of movement.  It can't just up and leave like a regular person, it has to be moved."

"Yeah and you should've been here when the dinos tried to move it about three years ago," said Shabunga laughing. "The thing was so heavy that they had the hardest time moving it.  They grunted and groaned and pushed and pulled and some nearly died from exhaustion.  It was hilarious!  They're so stupid.  I would've given up before I even started."

"Alright I get the idea," said Bill leaning back in his chair. "So where is it?"

"There's only one possible place it could be," said Jeff sticking a pin into the map. "This is it."

"Shabunga?" asked Bill.  Shabunga nodded.

"If it's not there I don't know where else it would be," he said.  Bill nodded and stood up taking the map with him.

"Let's g-" he began before being interrupted by Jimmy.

"Bill, communiqué from home.  Bulldog and Pitbull units are to rendezvous with the carrier _Flurry_ in orbit and warp immediately to the Beta Reticuli System to provide the extra force needed to finally bring that system to it's knees," said Jimmy.  Bill nodded.

"So I guess this planet is officially considered 'conquered' now?" he asked.  Jimmy shrugged.

"Not yet.  Andross says he still needs to do a couple more things here before it's officially considered 'conquered'.  Although what they are I don't know.  The Walled City should fall by day's end and so should this Fremen HQ that Fox and Co. are heading towards so that's about it really," said Jimmy.  Bill shrugged.

"Whatever.  Bulldog Unit, Pitbull Unit, head for the _Flurry_ in orbit.  Looks like you boys are going to get some action after all, the Beta Reticuli System needs your help.  Good luck," said Bill.  The pilots from those units cheered before boarding their fighters and blasting off towards orbit.

"Lucky bastards," said Bill shaking his head watching them go.

"Bored?" asked Jeff laughing.  Bill shrugged.

"It's not that, it's just that I'd like to be out there with my squad," he said. "It's the brotherhood of pilots."

"Yeah but surely you realize our current mission is much more important," said Sanders. "I have."

Bill shrugged. "Yeah I guess so.  Let's find that Warpstone and be done with it."

With that the team along with half of Husky Unit walked off into the wild.

University of Venomia Labs, Venom: "Test Number 54 is a failure," said Alby into his tape recorder.  He and his fellow scientists had been working day and night trying to find out how to destroy the Krazoa Spirit but so far nothing had worked.  At the moment they were sitting inside a small lab drinking coffee, out of ideas.

"We have the energy pattern, resonance, and frequency of the creature, that's not the problem.  The problem is how to kill the damn thing.  So far all physical attacks have failed.  We've tried almost every incendiary we can think of, from small explosions to a low level atomic explosion but no luck.  I think we're going to stop short of a Nuclear Copperhead Missile on this one.  We've since moved onto energy-based attacks.  We've tuned lasers to its precise frequency and nothing.  We also tried to drain it of it's energy, but that didn't work either, it can produce as much as take out.  We've tried heavier based laser cannons but no luck.  The largest we went was a Landmaster cannon.  Hell we even got the newly built Super Saruzin Class _Monkey's Paw_ to commence a planetary barrage on the thing but it still survived.  I don't know whether or not to be impressed or just PO'd at the thing.  Maybe I could convince Andross to fire a hyper laser at the thing, but somehow I don't think he'd let us.  Most testing we do involving the military is perfectly fine, but using a hyper laser would definitely raise some eyebrows.  Besides, there's no place we could do it either that wouldn't cause catastrophic damage.  Nevertheless testing continues," said Alby shutting off the recorder. "So what now?"

The scientists sat around dejected not knowing what to do.

"It's not like we've encountered a species like this before, failure was to be expected," said Fara Phoenix.  Fara was the chief weapons scientist for the UVCAF and she joined the project right after they'd switched to energy weapons on the Krazoa Spirit.

"Yeah but it should've died by now.  The laser attack should've worked since the gun was tuned to its frequency.  Hell the planetary assault should've wiped it out but it's still there taunting us," said Alby pointing to the cage with the spirit just hovering there.

"Yeah I hear ya," said Fara drinking her coffee while leaning against a desk across the room.  The other scientists stood around dejected when another scientist entered the room carrying a spectrometer.

"What's up?" asked Alby.  The scientist shrugged, setting the machine down on a counter.

"Oh nothing.  Power surge fried the spectrometer so I'm just going to borrow another one.  Cute pet," said the scientist.  He took another spectrometer and left the room with it.  Alby watched him go and was about to return to contemplating the milk swirls in his coffee when he had a sudden bolt of inspiration.

"That's it!" he shouted.  Fara and the others looked at him confused.

"What's it?" they asked.  Alby ran over to the energy dampener and began throwing switches on it.

"Don't you get it?  The key is not to drain it of energy but to overload it with energy!" he shouted excitedly.

"Okay," said Fara unconvinced.

"Don't you get it?" Alby asked running over to her. "The spectrometer burned out due to a power surge.  That thing is designed to take massive amounts of energy and convert it to visible waves, but it still blew out!  This 'spirit' is the same thing!  That's why it absorbed or emitted everything we threw at it!  But not it won't be able to react fast enough!"

Fara's mind began sorting out the information and suddenly the light dawned on her too.

"You're right, you're absolutely right it should work!" she shouted standing up.  The scientists began to realize this too and ran about setting up equipment and video equipment to monitor the experiment.  After a couple minutes they were done.

"Experiment 46.  We have come to the realization that perhaps stripping it of energy is not the way to go, but instead to overload it with energy is the way to go," said Alby into the camera before running to the energy-dampening gun, which had been switched to emit.

"Its' frequency has been keyed into the device," said Fara as she put on her goggles.

"Let's make some magic happen!" shouted Alby as he threw the device on.  Blue energy came flying out of the machine and struck the spirit.  At first nothing happened, but then it began to shudder uncomfortably before beginning to excessively bulge at the seams.  It got larger and larger like a balloon before it exploded and the lab went white.  A wave of energy ripped through the lab and blasted the door open and knocked the team off of their feet.  When the team collected it they found the cage blown apart and a dinosaur lying on its side.

"What the hell?" asked Fara.  The LightFoot slowly shook its head and tried to get to its feet, but before it could, Andross entered into the room with his troops and they gunned the thing to death.

"Impressive, very impressive.  You did it," Andross said bending over the dinosaur.

"What was that?" asked Fara.  Andross looked up at her.

"That was a member of the original ruling council of Dinosaur Planet.  Before they died they turned themselves into energy, they became the Krazoa Spirits.  That was about two million years ago," said Andross taking the dino's pulse to verify it was dead.

"So it achieved immortality by becoming a non-corporeal spirit?" asked Alby.  Andross nodded.

"What of it?" Andross asked testing him.  Alby laughed.

"What a bust!  I'd hate to achieve immortality only to not be able to do anything with it!  Stupid dinos!" he said laughing.  The team began laughing as well and Andross nodded.

"Now you see why we don't pursue immortality in science," said Andross.

"So what now?" asked Alby.  Andross pointed to the dampener gun.

"I take that to Dinosaur Planet and wipe out the Krazoa Spirits," he said as his soldiers removed the cannon from its stand and took it with them along with the dead dino.

"If you don't mind my asking, why?" asked Alby crossing his arms.  Andross looked at him.

"The dinos worshipped these creatures as gods, I can't allow that.  If you believe an idol will save you, you're gravely mistaken.  Thus I have to eliminate that belief," he said.  Alby nodded.

"Understandable.  Well, is that the end of this assignment?" he asked.  Andross nodded.

"Yes.  Now you can't publish your findings just yet, but hopefully within a week the Krazoa's will be eliminated so you can then.  I'll let you know," said Andross preparing to leave.

"Thanks for letting us work on this assignment.  It was the chance of a lifetime," said Fara.

"More will come I promise you.  Now remember, not a word of this to anyone.  If you speak I'll find out," said Andross leaving the room, following the trail of blood.

"Anybody want lunch?" asked Alby. "I've got an hour before I have to find out how to kill a Gozarian."

The scientists and Fara nodded and they all left for lunch at the nearest dorm cafeteria.  Down the hall, Andross smiled with satisfaction.

"_Your ass is mine Calhoun!  You're not surviving this time!_" he thought with glee.  He exited the campus onto the quad and entered into his ship and left with it to the _Monkey's Paw_ in orbit along with his troops, gun, and dead dino.  Once he boarded the ship, it blasted off towards Dinosaur Planet.

Moon Mountain Pass: "There it is," said Shabunga looking through a pair of binoculars at the Warpstone who was tending his garden, unaware he was being watched.  Bill nodded as Sanders pulled out a sniper rifle and trained it on the Warpstone.

"No shooting!" Jeff sneered.  Sanders laughed.

"Good to see you're adhering to the UVCAF rules well.  I'm not going to shoot it, I'm just setting up this gun so when Andross shows up and things go bad we can take it out," said Sanders sitting back against the outside wall of the crater while the Warpstone was on the inside of the crater.

"So now what do we do?" asked a pilot.  Bill shrugged.  They waited there a few more moments before Bill's radio crackled to life.

"Bill?" asked Hammer.

"I'm here," said Bill. "What's up?"

"You and your men up for some precision flying?" asked Hammer.  Bill shrugged.

"Well if you insist," he said innocently.  Hammer laughed.

"I need your team to head for the Walled City.  There are more defenses there than Andross anticipated so I'll need more support there.  Rendezvous with the Red Hammer and destroy that pyramid," said Hammer.

"Will do," said Bill.  He signaled to his team and they took off for their fighters. "Finally some action!"

RedEye Forest: The Red Hammer's Landmasters were sitting back to back with their barrels facing outwards as ten remaining RedEye's stood peering down at them.

"Looks like this is it, our last stand.  Good luck my glorious Red Hammer forces!" shouted Anklor as he entered into his Landmaster.  The remaining two Landmasters rotated their cannons upward and aimed at the RedEyes.  But right before they could fire, the RedEye's began sniffing the air confused for a moment before bolting off.

"What the?" asked Anklor.  In the distance several angry roars were heard along with several screams of agony from the RedEyes.  One suddenly burst from the tree line with a bloody mouth and a large hole in its side before collapsing dead.

"What the heck?" Greg asked.  Then suddenly the ground began shaking at regular intervals.

"It must be something larger than a RedEye to have done this much damage!" shouted Samson looking at the massive hole in the dino's side.

"What's larger than a RedEye?  I don't recall reading or hearing about one during the dinosaur identification part of the mission briefing.  Sure there's the HighTop's but they couldn't do this much damage," said Anklor.  Greg looked at him.

"You read that?" he asked.  Anklor nodded.

"I'm not an incompetent commander, soldier!" shouted Anklor angry.  Greg nodded.

"Right.  Sorry sir," said Greg.

"Well whatever it is, here it comes!" shouted Porpoise as the pounding only got stronger.  Anklor curled up into a ball and began cowering as a massive shadow fell over the team.

"That's right, tremble before my awesome power you cowards," said a familiar voice laughing.  Anklor opened his eyes with a start and stood up to find himself facing Granga and his massive war machine, which was leaning over them.

"Damn you Granga!" shouted Anklor shaking his fist at him. "What the hell are you doing here?"

"Saving your hide it looks like," said Granga moving his machine to peer over the dead RedEye.

"Be serious!" said Anklor.  Granga moved his machine to loom over Anklor.

"Well I was wandering around with DPAF22 after our mission was complete and we were in the north end of RedEye Forest when I get this call from Warlord Hammer.  He calls me and says that he's worried your incompetence is going to get you killed so I should go help out.  Now me being the honest monkey that I am agreed with him and here I am," said Granga laughing.  As he was talking, sixteen Landmasters rumbled out of the jungle and entered into formation with the Red Hammer's remaining two Landmasters and one APC.

"Well that must mean you're under my command since this _is_ my mission," said Anklor.

"Wrong!  You've bungled this up enough already!  It's my mission now!" shouted Granga.

"I don't think so you stupid monkey!" shouted Anklor.  He entered into his Landmaster and aimed the barrel at him while Granga's missiles aimed down at Anklor.  In the camp composed of DPAF22 and the Red Hammer, everyone was tossing down money to bet on who they thought would survive the barrage.  But before the battle could begin, the wind was blasted back as Husky Unit landed in the clearing.  Bill exited his fighter and walked over and stood between the two opposing forces.

"Ummm," he said confused.  Anklor popped out his tank to face him.

"Tell that interloper that this is my mission!" he shouted.

"This is my mission Bill, Anklor's screwed it up too much to be allowed to continue to command it," said Granga.  Bill looked at both of them as a ship landed in the background.

"Why don't I just lead it?" he asked.

"Not a chance!" they both shouted. "I'm not letting no fighter jock lead me!"

"Which is why none of you are leading this mission!" shouted Hammer walking up to them. "I am!"

"Works for me," said Bill walking off back to his squad.

"Now let's head for that pyramid," said Hammer returning to his ship.  A few moments later the newly formed DPAF45 moved towards the Walled City.

Trench outside the Fremen HQ: Two Fremen were eating a light lunch while looking out over the desert.  Several feet of barbed wire, multiple landmines, laser cannons, and other weapons all were trained out towards the desert, protecting the towering rock behind them.

"What's all this heightened alert for?  It's not like anything is coming this way!" laughed the first Fremen.

"I don't know," said the second Fremen unsure. "We're lost contact with far too many small outposts lately.  Then just yesterday we lost contact with Alpha Base."

"We're always loosing contact with them, it's not anything new," said the first.

"Yeah but the spotters who were sent to find out what happened to it never came back," said the second.

"Yeah well we'll be ready for any ground invasion or aerial invasion they can throw at us.  I still don't see why the council is so frightened by this invisible enemy," said the first.

"This invisible enemy is part of the Andross worshippers!" said the second. "Andross is the archenemy of our great leader."

"This Andross character doesn't even exist!  If he did, he's surely dead by now!" shouted the first.

"I don't think so," said the second.  The two Fremen were silent for a few more moments before seeing some white streaks in the sky.

"Oh boy a meteor shower!" said the first.  The second looked at the shower confused.

"That's odd, I don't recall any mentioning of a shower today," it said.

"Well that's definitely one," said the first.  The first took out its binoculars and witnessed the shower.

"Boy it's right above our heads!" it should. "Beautiful!"

The second took out its binoculars and observed the shower. "Those plumes are too organized to be a shower!  It must be."

Suddenly air raid sirens interrupted the second Fremen as out of the plumes roared several Ninjin Missiles.  The anti-aircraft guns rolled around to fire on them, but it was too little too late.  The missiles slammed into the defenses and blasted most of them to pieces.  Trenches, mines, barbed wire, laser emplacements, Fremen, all were torn to pieces by the barrage.  Then as if that wasn't enough, two Copperhead Missiles roared out of the clouds, smashed into the top of the Fremen's HQ, burrowed in, and exploded blasting the top third of the rock to pieces.

"Beautiful!" shouted Jerry as his Landmaster roared through the smoke and crashed over Fremen remains and other obstacles on the way to the rock.  The remaining Landmasters opened fire on the base with their cannons and bombs, blasting away still more chunks of it.

"What do you expect?" asked Fox peering through the periscope. "You don't build a state of the art missile system only to skimp out on the tracking system."

"Thank God," said Jerry. "We're about a couple minutes away from the entrance to the base.  What are your restrictions on the invasion?"

"Just don't kill anyone over forty.  Don't ask me why, it's classified.  But my team and I need to interrogate them on our own.  Anyway, what do you do as far as looting goes?" Fox asked.  Jerry shrugged.

"Since we're out here in the desert we use all we can get.  Any precious metals are put into storage for return to the UVCAF vaults.  Andross knows our situation so we don't have to worry too much about quotas regarding other supplies," he said pressing a couple buttons.

"Ready here we go!" he shouted.

The Walled City: A massive explosion blew the barricade in that the dinosaurs had worked so long to build.

"Steady," said the Queen EarthWalker.  The dinos had formed a line across from the entrance and were ready to rush whatever came through the smoke.  The dinos were nervously holding their stunrods while the sound of tanks grew louder.

"Steady," said the Queen again.  But just as the shadow of a tank appeared, two robed figures walked between the UVCAF forces and the dinos.

"Move out of the way!" the dinos all shouted at the two robed figures.  The two figures did nothing.

"Alright kill 'em," said the leader.  The dinos all aimed their stun rods at the two robed figures, until they were taken aback when a pair of wings ripped through the robes of one of them.

"What the hell?" asked the leader.  The two figures then flung back their robes to reveal General Scales and Drakor.

:"Kill them!" shouted the Queen.  But before the dinos could fire their weapons a squad of UVCAF fighters mowed them down.  Drakor promptly took the to the sky and roared overhead, firing his fire breath at everything that moved.  Scales moved out and began slaughtering dinos left and right as the UVCAF tanks finally rumbled into the small courtyard in front of the pyramid.  Granga meanwhile began attacking the Sun and Moon Temples.  Above, Husky Unit began blasting large chunks out of the top of the Walled City pyramid.  Hammer finally entered into the Walled City compound on top of Anklor's Landmaster and hopped off.  He then walked over to Scales who had just slit the throat of a dino with his pronged hand.

"Still alive huh general?" asked Hammer.  Scales shrugged.

"It'd take more than a thermonuclear explosion to get rid of me," he said.  Hammer nodded and the two went with a group of UVCAF soldiers into the pyramid who began blasting dinos in every room of the temple.

"Where've you been this whole time?" Hammer asked.  Scales shrugged.

"Around.  After the Sky Galleon crashed, K. Rool bolted like the coward he was.  I just took my remaining SharpClaw's and fought our way through the jungle.  Bizarrely enough we just got here ourselves.  I had hoped to have this place conquered before you got here, but not everything goes as planned," said Scales.  Hammer nodded as he watched a pair of dinos get flung out of a closed door only for Drakor step out a few moments later and walked down the hall.

"Who's he?" asked Hammer.

"My brother Drakor," said Scales walking down the corridor after him.

"I don't see the resemblance," said Hammer.  Scales shrugged again.

"We're half-brothers really.  His father was a dragon," said Scales.  This time Hammer shrugged.

"Whatever works so long as he's on our side," he said.

"Andross knows about him.  He met him a couple years ago," said Scales. "He checked out and is a member of the UVCAF."

Drakor stopped in the hallway and began sniffing the air even as laser bolts and screams rang out through the temple.

"They rest are hiding," he said gruffly.

"Where?" asked Hammer finally taking out his blaster pistol.  Drakor sniffed the air again.

"Down below, where the kept the King," said the Drakor spinning around and taking off down the hallway.

"The King?" Hammer asked walking down the hall with Scales. "Which King?"

"King RedEye," said Scales.

"Never heard of him," said Hammer.  Scales laughed.

"That's because he's dead.  The Council decided that he was to die for the crimes he had committed so they starved him to death.  That's why the RedEye's have been so agitated lately," said Scales walking out of the temple into the light and were walking towards the secret entrance to the underground passage when Bill caught up with him.

"General, Grand Admiral," said Bill nodding.  The others nodded back continuing their walk.

"Here it is," said Scales as he walked down a decline towards a room with two RedEye statues.  Drakor stood there sniffing the iron bar gate when the others approached him.

"They're here," it said.  Bill slanted his eyebrow upward at the dino.

"Drop it," said Hammer.  Bill held up his hands in defeat while Drakor ripped the gate off its hinges and tossed it to the side only to plunge into the darkness.  Scales then promptly turned to leave.

"Shouldn't we be helping him?" asked Bill pointing back to the entrance.

"He's better off on his own in this situations.  We'd only get hurt in the process.  He'll be back out in a little bit," said Scales exiting the room into the clear sky.

"This attack was easier than I expected," said Hammer.

"These dinos are idiots.  If K. Rool had backed me up I would've conquered them years ago," Scales said.  A loud roar pierced the sky and Drakor came flying out of the secret entrance and into the sky.  He soared around for a few moments before landing covered with a small layer of blood.

"Subtle yet effective," said Hammer.

"I like to think so," said Drakor speaking normally for once.  He held up Tricky by his bony frill.  "I found him.  He's the last of the royalty still alive."

"Then I guess we should hold onto him for now," said Hammer taking the kicking dino from Drakor.

"You'll all pay for this.  Fox will save me!" shouted Tricky struggling about.  The group started laughing.

"Kid has no one told you the truth yet?" asked Bill.

"What truth?" demanded Tricky.

"Fox is the enemy!" shouted Hammer. "We all are!"

"No!  I don't believe that!" said Tricky.

"Yes!  He's out conquering the Fremen right now!" shouted Hammer.

"The Fremen are our enemy!" said Tricky.  They all just shook their heads and Hammer placed Tricky in a portable kennel, which a guard carried off to Hammer's ship.

"So what now?  Is the invasion finally over?" asked Scales looking around at the UVCAF forces surrounding the base as the two Attack Carriers flew by overhead only to hover a couple miles away and his remaining SharpClaw attachment walk up and take a defensive form around him.

"Yeah I suppose so.  I think Andross has a couple more things to do here before it's officially considered 'conquered'.  But unofficially I'd say it is," said Hammer.  Scales nodded.

"Are all the dinosaurs eliminated?" asked Drakor.  Hammer barked.

"Not a chance.  For every dino we've killed, at least two more have surrendered.  No we don't kill the indigenous population, that's a waste of supplies.  Besides, the indigenous population was learn to live under UVCAF rules and eventually this planet will apply for membership in the UVCAF," Hammer said.  Drakor nodded.

"I didn't know how you did things in regards to invasions.  I haven't really left this planet too many times to know for sure," said the dragon/t-rex hybrid.  Hammer shrugged along with Bill.  Then Hammer's comm. beeped.

"Yes," he said into it. "Really.  When?  Alright I'm on my way.  Bill, Sanders, we need to take off now.  Scales, Drakor took over for now and stop Granga and Anklor from killing each other."

"Maybe I should just kill them now and be done with it!" laughed Drakor as Hammer, Bill, and Sanders took off for their ships.  In the background Anklor and Granga were both on the ground arguing with each other over something trivial.

"I'm sure it would be, but ultimately it's against the law!" shouted Hammer back at them.  Drakor and Scales shook their heads in humility at their current situation of having to separate the two.  Then Hammer, Bill, and Sander's ships raised up into the sky and blasted off towards ThornTail Hollow.

Fremen HQ: A massive explosion blasted in the cargo bay doors leading to the inside of the base and laser fire roared through the entrance as a pair of Landmasters roared into the bay and began firing on all the creatures in the bay.  A few moments later, the bay was cleared off hostile forces.

"Clear," said the pilot of the first Landmaster.  Through the smoke, Fox, Jerry, Leon, and Andrew all raced into the bay along with several commandos.  They all wore breath masks so they could overcome the fumes and stench as well as protect themselves from any bio-weapons.

"Okay here's the restrictions on the assault.  Don't kill anyone over forty.  Stun them yes, but don't kill them.  Everything else is up in the air.  Any questions?" asked Jerry.

"Yeah.  What's the preferred survivor percentage for under forty?" asked a troop.

"0% if at all possible.  They're Calhoun worshippers, we don't want them coming back," said Fox.  The troops nodded, anxious to eliminate any Calhoun worshippers.

"Alright you heard the man let's move out!  All remaining Landmasters and remaining Desert Rovers, stick close to the outside of the base where the remaining guns can't target you!" shouted Jerry. "And remember, our lives are forfeited to the Emperor, only through battle in his honor can we redeem them!"

The commandos all shouted approval and stormed into the hallways outside the facility.  The halls were mostly deserted, but there were still a couple of Fremen who were still loading up their belongings who were promptly gunned down by the commandos.

"Looks like they've all pulled back deeper into the facility.  Thermals and motion trackers on!" shouted Jerry.  The commandos who had thermal vision goggles switched them on while those with motion trackers used them.  But both units revealed that there was no one in the immediate vicinity.

"C'mon let's keep moving," said Jerry walking down the silent hallway.

Somewhere in the Great Dino Desert: A massive shadow crept over the desert and a massive roar was heard.  Suddenly a massive sandstorm erupted and began moving on a direct intercept course with the Fremen HQ.

HQ: "How many levels does this place have?" asked Fox as they walked down yet another corridor with no one to be found.

"Thirty habitat levels with twenty levels on top dedicated to automated offensive and defensive weaponry," said Jerry. "Or at least that's what the information we captured said and we've seen nothing to contradict that.  That's why we blasted the top eighteen levels off of this place."

"Where is the Fremen Ruling Council supposed to be?" asked Fox.  The commandos walked down yet another corridor, this time with a few creatures still in it, but they were still just late evacuees and were promptly mowed down as well.

"They're supposed to be on the thirtieth level hence why _The Boomstick_ in orbit we didn't destroy all the levels of defenses," said Jerry.  Fox nodded.

"So where do you think everyone is?" asked Fox.  Jerry shrugged.

"Beats me.  But no one's left so they're here somewhere," he said nonchalantly.

"You don't think there's any underground escape do you?" asked Andrew.  Jerry shook his head.

"The thumpers we used earlier would've detected them," said Jerry walking to a group of stairs.  Earlier in the day the commandos had used thumpers to get a radar reading in order to determine what was underneath the base.  They'd detected a couple passages for tanks to roll out of, so a couple Ninjins collapsed those holes during the barrage.  Jerry stepped aside as a commando stared up the stairs with thermals.

"Clear!" the commando said.  Jerry nodded and began ascending the stairs with the commandos.

"You sound bored," Fox observed.  Jerry chuckled.

"It's just that I'd been expecting more a resistance than this," he said exiting onto the next level. "Commandos, spread out one per level, observation only.  I want those creatures found but don't attack without backup.  The Star Fox Team and I will journey to the thirtieth level and find out what's going on up there," said Jerry.  The commandos nodded and began running up the stairs while Jerry and the Star Fox Team walked up the stairs.  After a few levels, Jerry took off his backpack and set it down on the stairs.

"Hold on, I have to readjust this it's getting uncomfortable," he said going through his bag.  In his bag were five cylinders.  Jerry took one out and handed it to Fox.  It was clear plastic for the tube part and had gray plastic caps on both ends while inside the tube was a white powder.

"Viral Weapon X-7. Property of the CDF, do not open without proper safety gear. That's odd. What the hell is a CDF?" asked Andrew looking at the cylinder.

"I haven't been near the Lylat System in awhile so I was hoping you knew," said Jerry.

"Sorry, we haven't been near there either.  We've spent the last three years moving from planet to planet, invading or just keeping the peace," said Leon helplessly.  Fox racked his brains as to where he'd heard about the CDF before and suddenly it occurred to him and he began laughing.

"What?" the rest all asked.  Fox shook his head and removed a tear from his eyes.

"The reason you haven't heard about the CDF is because it doesn't exist!" shouted Fox shaking his head again.

"Huh?" asked Jerry very confused.  Fox continued laughing at their confusion.

"I'm sorry, you probably don't have any clue what I'm talking about.  The CDF comes from 'the dreamers' reality; it means the Cornerian Defense Force.  Andross must've learned about this stuff from 'the dreamers' before they stopped 'dreaming' and had it created.  Only it seems his scientists forgot to remove the labels," said Fox still laughing.

"Oh, now it makes sense," said Andrew.  After the Lylat Wars, Andross had informed everyone about 'the dreamers' and subsequently after his proclamation 'the dreamers' stopped revealing information about that other universe/reality and 'the dreamers' that had been detained were allowed to rejoin society.  However those that had been detained for more than seven years were summarily executed when it was discovered they wouldn't be able to properly adjust to society.

"That seems odd though that the tube itself would possess that information.  If the scientists created it, why would they add that information, it doesn't make sense," said Jerry.

"Neither does life," said Fox shrugging. "Here we are invading an enemy stronghold full of Calhoun worshippers while there are people in their homes right now sleeping, eating, and enjoying life.  Life sucks get used to it."

"God bless the UVCAF!" laughed Leon. "What a club!"

"Oy," said Andrew.  Jerry took the vial from Fox and put it back in his bag.

"Let's get moving.  I want the leaders in custody and everyone else dead ASAP," he said zipping up his bag and continuing to ascend the steps.

Moon Mountain Pass: Shabunga and Jeff sat up on the ridge overlooking the Warpstone.

"Lunch?" Shabunga asked, handing Jeff a powerbar.

"Sure why not?" said Jeff taking it.  He bit into it and shuddered.

"UVCAF rations, good on vitamins and minerals, bad on everything else," said Shabunga smiling.

"It's still better than that slop they fed me back at CloudRunner Fortress," said Jeff.

"Yeah I hear that," said Shabunga.  He looked down the scope of the sniper rifle aimed at the Warpstone.

"Wonder what Andross wants with him," Shabunga asked.  Jeff shrugged.

"Who cares?  I didn't even really know that thing physically existed until today and even then I'm not impressed with it," said Jeff.

"Yeah, it's basically a hunk of rock that talks.  I know people like that myself back home," said Shabunga.  Jeff popped open the top of a soda and began drinking it.

"Where are you from anyway?" asked Jeff. "I mean presumably your people, all the various dinos who left, were the ones who left Dinosaur Planet after the Council chose to reject technology so what happened to your people after that?"

"They ventured for several months trying to find a new home.  Many of them died during the voyage.  Finally after three very long years of searching my ancestors stumbled upon Zoness in the Lylat System.  At first my people were greeted with fear and suspicion because no one had seen 'aliens' before.  But over time, the prejudice subsided and people just considered them to be natives of the Lylat System.  That's how it's been for the past 5,000 years," said Shabunga reciting old history.

"Unbelievable.  So do or did your people ever have a dream about coming back to Dinosaur Planet where they'd finally be accepted for enjoying technology?" asked Jeff.  Shabunga laughed.

"Not a chance.  My people didn't leave on good terms; a mob chased them out.  They hated what this planet had become since technology had been slowly weeded out.  If they hadn't hid those old rusty spaceships, they would've died here.  That's why they don't want to come back.  Hell fifteen DPAF's are manned solely by dinosaurs from back home that absolutely hate this planet.  My buddy Dan came to make sure this planet was the hellhole our ancestors wrote that it was and he left knowing that the planet is just that.   I hate it here too.  It must be something that's in our genetics based on our ancestors hatred of this planet," said Shabunga.

"So what elements of dinosaur society exist in your society today?  Do you have a Council of Elders?" asked Jeff.  Shabunga shook his head.

"No that was eliminated soon after their landing.  Now Andross is our council leader.  The Emperor is the only leader we'll ever need," he said.

"Oh.  What about tests of strength?" Jeff asked.

"Tests like that are only for the simple minded," said Shabunga.

"Oh so that's a no then.  Has anything survived?" asked Jeff.  Shabunga thought about if for a few moments before snapping his fingers.  Shabunga switched off his translator.

"Kxo Cudwiuwo," said Shabunga.  Jeff smiled as Shabunga turned the translator back on.

"So you still speak _the language_," said Jeff.  Shabunga shrugged.

"Only during formal occasion do we use it.  My people learned Lylatian over the years and their children all were taught it as a primary language.  We learned dino as a second language to use during weddings, funerals, great feasts to celebrate the day we left this hellhole, and other rare events.  Andross learned dino as well so we can use it to talk to him during his visits to our planet, which is _definitely_ a special occasion.  Previous Emperors never bothered to do this and that is why my people feel such a strong loyalty to Andross as an Emperor.  After all, it's not like things can get any worse that Calhoun," said Shabunga spitting out the last word.

"Calhoun?" asked Jeff curious.  Shabunga stared at him with pure anger in his eyes.

"Drop it," he said.  Jeff held up his hands.

"Sorry I didn't know," he said.  Shabunga shook his head really fast and the rage disappeared.

"It's okay, just never ask about him to anyone.  He was a madman that's all you need to know," he said.

"So how long are we supposed to be here?" Jeff asked.  Shabunga took a sip of some juice.

"I'm assuming they'll tell us sooner or later," said Shabunga.  Jeff nodded and the two of them returned to their game of chess.

Fremen HQ: "Bingo," said Jerry.  He and the commandos along with the Star Fox Team had finally located the large area where all the Fremen were holed up.  Unfortunately the Fremen were all armed and there were over two hundred of them whereas there were only thirty commandos plus the Fox's team.  The ruling council was sitting in the center protected by several guards and all of the Fremen citizens.

"Great, just great," said Jerry looking through a mirrored periscope around a corner looking at the massive area.

"It's not totally hopeless," Fox said shrugging helplessly.

"Yeah, maybe we've demoralized 'em," said Andrew.  Leon smacked him upside the head.

"Why'd you do that?" asked Andrew holding his head.

"Annoying ape, I am the great Leon!" said the lizard with his explanation for everything.  Andrew merely mouthed Leon's words at the same time while making mouth motions with his hands.

"You're 'The great Leon' huh?  Here's a gun, good luck," said Jerry holding the barrel of the gun with the butt facing Leon.  Leon muttered something but didn't move to take the gun.  The commandos chuckled at that along with Fox and Andrew.

"So what now?" asked Andrew.  Fox shrugged while glancing over their supplies.  His eyes then fell on the bag of Viral Weapon X-7.

"You don't have the antidote for that stuff do you?" asked Fox pointing to the bag.

"A limited amount," said the doctor. "Why?"

"I was thinking about inoculating the Fremen council," said Fox.  The commandos started at that comment.

"Why the hell would we want to do that?" asked Jerry after quieting the commandos.

"Well I was thinking that if we were to use Viral Weapon X-7 in that room and the Council was inoculated," began Fox.

"Then the Council would be the only ones left after it was used," said Jerry shaking his head in approval. "After all, they're not immune to blaster fire."

"Are we in agreement?" asked Fox to the commandos.  The commandos nodded, relieved that Fox hadn't gone crazy.  The doctor brought out a small thin case and flipped it open revealing four syringes of antidote.  Another soldier handed the doctor a bunch of empty darts.  The doctor quickly filled them all and loaded them into the dart gun.

"Chris you've got the best accuracy of all of us, take the shots," said Jerry.  A female commando, Chris, stepped forward and took the gun.

"Make 'em count," said Fox as Chris walked by.

"No pressure right?" Chris asked.  Fox laughed.

"Worse comes to worse we mow 'em down.  It's not the best situation, but one I'm willing to accept," said Fox.  Chris rolled her eyes and kept walking as Fox slapped her on the back.  Chris leaned around the corner and aimed the gun as Jerry pulled out a pair of canisters along with Fox while Leon took the remaining one.

"I hope this stuff works.  We haven't really had the opportunity to field test them," said Jerry.  Chris popped off the shots and ducked back around the corner as laser fire tore up the back wall.

"Got 'em," she said retreating.

"Give us some cover!" shouted Jerry.  A pair of commandos rolled into the hall and popped off several shots as Jerry, Fox, and Leon appeared, unscrewed the caps, and launched the canisters into the open area before running back under cover.

"Let's hope our breath masks will protect us from this stuff.  Andross told me that this stuff could pass through any filtration system," said Jerry shrugged.

"That ain't so good," said Andrew.

"I think Andross also mentioned the stuff will burn itself out after fifteen minutes," said Jerry.  Before Fox could respond, screams of pain and agony were heard coming out of the room.  Andrew turned to see what was going on in there, but Fox held him back.

"You don't want to see what's going on in there," he said shaking his head.  A few moments later the screaming stopped.  The team sat behind the wall for a good forty-five minutes while Fox watched through the periscope as the council stood their in a state of catatonic shock.  Finally Fox closed the periscope and stood up.

"When you walk around that corner you're going to see thing that will utterly confuse you.  Now whatever you do don't ask us about Viral Weapon X-7.  I don't know how it works and neither does anyone else here.  In fact, I believe it's in your best interest to forget the stuff even existed.  Alright let's move," said Fox.  The commandos nodded a little shaken by what he said.  They all ran around the corner and aimed their weapons into the massive room.  With the exception of the council, no one was there.  Clothes were lying in a heap all over the place, but there was not a single cell to be found.  The commandos tried to shake off their queasiness but some couldn't manage and fainted dead away while others just threw up.  Fox shuddered and walked up to the council who were still standing there.  The doctor handed Fox some smelling salts while he began examining the clothes of the vanished Fremen.  Fox held the salts underneath the council's noses and they snapped to life.  They quickly reached for their weapons, but a pair of commandos held their rifles right at them while Fox stripped them of their weapons.

"What have you done?" asked a council member in shock at the devastation.  Fox shrugged.

"My job," he said as some commandos hauled them off.

"Let's move team.  Jerry, this as far as you and your team is concerned regarding these individuals," said Fox.  Jerry nodded.

"Whatever.  This base is officially conquered by my standards so we'll just take whatever we can use.  Commandos move out!" shouted Jerry.  The commandos holstered their weapons and left the room, some dragging their fainted comrades.  Fox and his team followed the commandos with the council; who promptly threw them into a room with no windows and one light with a table and chair in it.

"Must be their interrogation room," said Chris.  Fox shrugged.

"Time for you to leave," said Fox.  The commandos left and almost ran into the doctor who was walking down the hallway.

"You need any help let me know," he said into the room. "I'll be in the medical bay."

"He sure is dedicated to his work.  What's his name again?" asked Leon.

"Patch.  Supposedly he's one of the best in the business.  Graduated top of his class at the Cornerian Medical Institute with a major in medicine _and_ torture," said Fox.  Leon nodded.

"I thought he looked young.  The CMI had only been around for eight years or so," said the lizard.

"He was in the first class that went the whole way through the university," said Fox nodding.

"Gentlemen the task at hand," said Andrew pointing towards the council who had been handcuffed and bound to the chairs.

"He's right," said Leon sitting down in a chair and taking out the electroshocks.

"I'll give you one chance to answer our question before we use this on you," said Fox. "Where's Calhoun?"

Several miles away: The roaring continued as the sandstorm roared straight for the Fremen HQ.

Room: "Who is this Calhoun of whom you speak?" asked the councilman Hayes.

"Don't play innocent with me.  I know you and your Fremen are or are the descendants of the Calhoun worshippers who fled the Lylat System forty years ago.  Now you either tell me now or we torture you and then you tell us," said Fox crossing his arms.

"You don't scare us," said councilman Hoover.

"Does he?" asked Fox setting down a holoprojector that showed Andross' face on it.  A couple of the councilmen grew angry at the image while others pretended not to notice.

"The evil one!" shouted councilman Carter. "The one who forced our master from power!"

"Shut up," said Hayes under his breath.

"I will not shut up!  You will all pay for what you did to Emperor Calhoun!" shouted Carter.

"Good thing he's dead," said Fox innocently.  Carter laughed maniacally.

"Our lord is not dead!  He's alive, alive!" shouted Carter. "And one day he will return to kill you all!"

That was as far as he got before Hayes head butted him, knocking him unconscious.

"The damn fool is mad, he doesn't know what he's talking about," said Hayes nervously laughing.  Fox shrugged.

"Either way he's told me what I need to know.  Vape 'em," said Fox.  Andrew and Leon promptly vaporized the council and the trio left the room where the promptly smacked into Jerry.

"Oh thank God I found you," said Jerry.

"What's up?" asked Fox a little worried.  Jerry just shook his head.

"Come with me you've got to see this!" Jerry said running off.  Fox and Co. looked at each other and took off after him.

Fifteen Miles away: The sandstorm continued towards the HQ with a massive shadow moving inside of it.  The remaining commandos still outside the HQ looked at the massive storm wide-eyed.  Then Jerry, Fox, and his team rushed outside to witness the massive storm.

"Holy shit," said Fox looking at the wall of sand.

"That's not the worst part.  According to our sensors there's an eleven-mile long object moving inside the storm," said Chris looking at a radar screen.

"Eleven miles long?" asked Leon incredulously as the team moved around the screen to view the radar that showed a massive blurry shaped object moving towards them.

"I thought you said earlier that nothing could survive inside of a sandstorm," said Fox.  Jerry shook his head.

"Nothing should be able to," he said incredulously. "I have no explanation for this."

"Can you get any better resolution?" asked Leon.  Chris shook her head.

"I've tried but it's no good," she said.  Jerry continued contemplating this turn of events.  Finally a thought occurred to him.

"You don't think it's a worm do you?" he asked.

"A _worm_?" asked Fox.  Jerry shrugged helplessly.

"What's a worm?  I'm assuming you mean something other than the small worms in the ground," said Leon quickly explaining.

"Six months ago we surveyed a desert world similar to Titania called Tatarkis.  Anyway the locals there spotted a lot of nonsense about giant worms that used to live underneath the surface of their planet.  We never found any proof of it and Andross decided the planet wasn't worth invading, they surrendered immediately and was subsequently left alone, so we never just forgot about it.  But now, it might be possible that giant worms exist here," said Jerry.

"But why appear now?  Why not sooner?" asked Fox.

"The destruction of the upper levels of the base might've set it off," Chris suggested.  Leon's eyes widened.

"Uh-oh," he said.  Eyes widened this time, as the roar grew louder.

"Everybody inside now!  Head for the upper levels!" shouted Jerry.  The commandos grabbed what supplies they could before running into the HQ.

"Fox let's move," shouted Jerry as the wind picked up and began throwing sand everywhere.  Fox shook his head.

"I need to see it first," he said over the roar of the storm/whatever was in it?  Fox didn't know.

"You're crazy," said Jerry shaking his head.

"I don't run from anybody or anything," he said.  Jerry shrugged.

"Well neither do I," he said.  Leon, Andrew, Jerry, and Chris all stayed as the storm buffeted all around them.

"You don't have to stay," Fox said putting on his goggles as sand moved all around him.  Then the storm smashed into the HQ.  The team struggled to stand up against the blasts as the radar began blaring about a collision alert.

"Fifteen meters and closing!" shouted Chris.  The sand quickly blotted out the sun and soon darkness fell on them.

"Five meters!"

The ground began rumbling heavily.

"Four!"

The roar grew even louder.

"Three!"

Tiny specks of light were seen inside of the storm, but Fox shook it off as spots in his eyes.

"Two!"

The sand began to shift apart as whatever it was prepared to emerge from the storm.

"Here it comes!" shouted Fox taking out his blaster and aiming it into the storm.

"One!"  The sand blew fiercer, the wind harder, and the roar became deafening.

"This is it!  Our last stand!" shouted Fox.  The team opened fire into the sandstorm as the massive object tore through and became visible.

"Oh my God!  That's-" shouted Chris as a massive wall of sand blew straight at them and then there was silence.


	9. Calhoun Found & Lost

"Oh my God that's-" began Chris before she and the others were flung off their feet by a quick blast of air as Super Saruzin Class Destroyer _The Monkey's Paw_ burst through the sandstorm and landed nearby.  It reversed its' repulsorlifts and the sandstorm abruptly died, dropping sand everywhere.  When Fox finally picked himself up he found Andross standing over him.

"Lying around on the job?  Fox I'm afraid you're going to have to be punished!" said the Emperor laughing.

"You should be punished for reckless endangerment of UVCAF personnel," said Fox picking himself up.

"Ha!  You chose to stay our here it's your fault," responded Andross.

"What would you do if you found an eleven mile long object heading for you in the middle of a sandstorm.  I think you'd want to find out what it was as well," said Fox dusting himself off.

"I guess I can understand that," said Andross nodding while looking at his new ship.

"I thought you weren't going to build another Super Saruzin after _The Lusankya_ was captured by Pepper and _The Executor_ was damaged beyond repair.  Both of those ships bit the dust in the battle above Katina and considering it took five years to build both of them and you said it wasn't worth the effort to build another," said Fox.  Andross shrugged.

"This baby was partially built right before the war and I stashed it in Sector Y for the duration of the war.  Then when the war ended I forgot about it until three years ago and then I took it out of 'storage' and placed it in one of my secret shipyards and had it finished," said Andross.

"Hammer's not going to like having his ship one upped again.  I think he liked having his ship be the largest in the fleet," said Fox looking at the massive ship resting on the ground.

"Yeah but I kept taking control of it all the time _because_ it was the largest ship in the fleet.  I'm pretty sure he'll enjoy having his ship back fulltime like before the war," said Andross.  Fox nodded.

"Well that is true," he said.  Chris and Jerry finally picked themselves up and walked over to Andross along with the commandos who had flooded out of the HQ.

"Emperor," they said and saluted.  Andross nodded and saluted back.

"Colonel Jerry Mingham, Commander Chris Kyle, Desert Commandos," said Andross looking up at the still smoking Fremen HQ. "Been redeeming our lives have we?"

The commandos all nodded with smiles on their faces.  Andross nodded.

"I've never really had the opportunity to meet with all of you before so I think I'll use this opportunity to it's fullest.  I just wanted to thank you for all that you've done for the UVCAF forces.  Working in the desert is no easy task, I did some desert assaults back when I was in the URVAC and it was extremely tough.  Doing what you do shows real commitment and I thank you all for that," said Andross sincerely. "I've decided that I'll cut your mission short.  We'll return to ThornTail Hollow and you can take a transport back home.  In the meantime, please use our facilities to do whatever you need to.  Medical bays, repair facilities, quarters, entertainment faculties, use them all you've deserved it.  Thank you for all of your hard work."

The commandos nodded and went about bringing in their Landmasters to the massive ship.

"You can take what you need as far as supplies go Colonel," said Andross to Jerry who nodded and left as well with Chris.

"So Fox," Andross said sighing. "Did you find out what you needed to?"

"Yes," said Fox walking to the cruiser. "He's still alive and based on information we recovered from the Cerinian, he's definitely a Krazoa Spirit.  So what about on your end?  Did you find a way to kill a Spirit?"

"Yeah I did.  It's a simple matter we just need to find him.  Hammer tells me that they did find the Warpstone so it's only a matter of going there and forcing the thing to tell us where he is and go from there," said Andross as they entered into the ship.

"Good, the sooner this Calhoun debacle is over and behind us the better," said Fox.  Andross nodded and they entered into the ship.  Andross walked over to a comm. system and pressed the button it.

"We're aboard, let's take off for ThornTail Hollow," he said.  The ramp retracted back up between the forward mandibles and the ship took off for ThornTail Hollow.

"So how'd you get that sandstorm to work out?" asked Andrew.  Andross shrugged.

"Simple low-atla maneuver.  But we did it so fast and so close to the surface that sand came flying up and thanks to the repulsorlifts it became a movable sandstorm," said Andross.  Fox just shook his head.

"Unbelievable.  So I guess that roar was just the engines then," he said.  Andross stopped in his tracks.

"What roar?  These engines are new stealth models that make no noise," he said confused.  Fox stopped at stared at him.

"Uh oh," he said before he noticed Andross trying to suppress a laugh. "Damnit Emperor!"

"Sorry I couldn't help it.  Don't tell me Jerry gave that whole 'giant worm' speech, it was never conclusively proven that giant worms exist on any world, desert or not," said Andross continuing to walk deeper into the ship as Fox continued to voice his dislike for that joke.

ThornTail Hollow, Morning: Hammer was going over the final numbers to send back to Venom since the planet had fallen under UVCAF control and was about to send them when an aide came up to him.

"Sir you have to see this!" said the aide taking off.  Hammer followed the aide onto the upper deck of the ship as a massive shadow fell over _The Mantia 01_ from _The Monkey's Paw_.  Its newer and larger brother had just eclipsed the current largest ship in the UVCAF forces.  Then the massive ship just barely managed to squeeze into ThornTail Hollow next to _The Mantia 01_.  Hammer sighed and left.  He exited the bottom of the ship and walked over to Andross and the Star Fox Team who were sitting at a foldout table with an umbrella on plastic chairs eating hamburgers with lemonade.

"Ah Hammer, nice of you to join us!" said Andross with a smile as he lay back in his chair with a pair of sunglasses on.  Hammer took the only empty seat and began sipping his lemonade.

"Wonderful day isn't it?"

"Andross I thought I told you building another Super Saruzin would be a mistake," said Hammer facing the massive ship.

"I disagree," he said. "They've proven themselves in the past."

"Yeah by beating the living hell out of _my _ship!  _The Lusankya_ was responsible for most of the devastation in that war and Katina still has a small ring of debris around it after _The Lusankya_ and _The Executor_ slugged it out over that planet turning both of them to scrap.  _The Mantia 01_ was heavily damaged by that ship through various bouts and it took eighteen months to get fully repaired!" shouted Hammer.  Andross just shook his head.

"I've learned my lesson since then.  The ship has a built in safety protocol that disallows it to fire on other UVCAF vessels.  Only with my direct voice command could it do so otherwise," said Andross.  Hammer just shook his head.

"Don't forget that I told back when you were planning on building _The Lusankya_ and _The Executor_ I told you it would a mistake as well.  But you were like 'no they won't be, they'll be the most powerful ships ever and they'll cement my rule as Emperor'.  Yeah right.  Let me run it down for you.  That ship is eleven miles long, _The Mantia 01_ is seven miles long, and typical Saruzins are only five miles long.  That's why we had such a problem when Pepper stole _The Lusankya_," said Hammer.

"Big deal!  Dorisbys are longer than _The Monkey's Paw_!" said Andross.

"Yeah but Dorisbys can only open fire from the front, are very slow, and can't maneuver well.  Them being fifteen miles long doesn't amount to much considering they're all engine, launch bay, and two forward apertures for weapons and fighters to emerge from.  They're just around for overwhelming enemies nothing more.  On their own they're virtually useless except for planetary assault," said Hammer.

"I resent that, I designed them!" said Andross with a look of dismay on his face.  Hammer just shook his head.

"Oh please!  The basic designs for those ships have been around for over two hundred years," said Hammer.  Andross shrugged.

"Well it was worth a shot," he said sipping his drink.

"You just promise me one thing.  When that ship goes rogue and we have to take it out, you swear never to build another one ever again," said Hammer.

"Fine!  But nothing's going to go wrong," said Andross.

"Well see, Emperor, we'll see," said Hammer finishing his meal.

"Anyway, today's the big day," said Andross. "Today we reclaim our lives once and for all and finally ensure the safety of the Lylat System."

"Yeah.  So when are we going to do it?  Soon would be preferred.  I want this planet conquered and done with so we can move on to Beta Reticuli and take it from Tauros," said Hammer.

"Sorry, Hammer.  Tauros conquered it three hours ago," said Fox.

"Damn," said Hammer.

"Don't worry, there'll be others.  We've already got another star system in the rumor list that we're going to investigate in the next week, take that one," said Andross.  Hammer just rolled his eyes.

"Fine, whatever," he said.

"Where's Bill and Sanders?" asked Fox finally.

"I sent them off to Moon Mountain Pass this morning to relieve Shabunga and Jeff.  They clearly don't know what's really going on so I figured they probably shouldn't be around when we finally confront the Warpstone," said Hammer.  Andross nodded and removed the napkin from his lap and folded it up and set it on the table.

"Let's go then," he said standing up.

"Now?" asked Fox.  Andross nodded.

"I'm the Emperor, when I say it's time to go it's time to go," he said. "You know that."

"Alright.  But how are we going to get there?" asked Fox.  A shadow fell over the five of them and they looked up at the Sarzuin Class vessel _The Hammer_.

"What is this, a Saruzin Convention?" asked Leon incredulously.  Hammer just smiled and shook his head.

"That's my original ship that Andross impounded over thirty years ago.  It was the first Saruzin class vessel ever constructed and was built and designed by my grandparents who were rich vessel contractors before Calhoun became Emperor and seized their assets before killing them.  My grandparents hid a small fleet, which was maintained over the years by loyal workers to my family.  When Calhoun killed my parents I quit the URVAC Academy, took the small fleet and attacked Calhoun at every opportunity I could.  Then I came into contact with Andross and together I provided a distraction using that ship to allow him the opportunity to kill the bastard.  When I attacked again seven years later, Andross captured it and impounded it," said Hammer. "I haven't seen it since.  Well until today that is."

"It seemed appropriate the Calhoun dies the way he died before.  Let's go," said Andross.  They followed him into _The Monkey's Paw_ and a moment later Andross' personal ship blasted off towards _The Hammer_.  It entered into the bay and the ship moved off towards Moon Mountain Pass while in the background _The Monkey's Paw_ rose up and took off into orbit.  The ship roared over the smoking remains of the LightFoot Village while in the passageway a transport roared down the passage towards ThornTail Hollow.

"There goes the Emperor to take care of business," said Shabunga watching the ship coast by overhead.

"Yeah," said Jeff. "So what's going to happen to me now?"

"Well," said Shabunga. "Our job here is finished so why don't you come back with my to Zoness?  I'll show you around, introduce you to the dinosaurs living there and if Andross needs you, he'll know where to find you."

"That sounds like fun.  At least, more fun than sticking around here any longer," said Jeff.

"I hear ya.  But don't worry, once the terraforming crews get in here, all of the damaged areas will look good as new and this area might very well become a bustling metropolis.  Although in all likelihood it'll be a small trading outpost/UVCAF base because it really isn't on any trade routes," said Shabunga.

"Maybe I'll come back here sometime when it's settled.  It still hold some charm to me," said Jeff watching the scenery move by.

"You choice," said Shabunga as the craft burst into ThornTail Hollow.

Moon Mountain Pass: "I never noticed this before, but that thing is ugly," said Sanders looking through the binoculars at the Warpstone.

"It's a rock, what do you expect?" laughed Bill.  Sanders shrugged.

"I don't know.  Remember those Melodies on Melodia?  Now that was a species," said Sanders laughing.  Bill chuckled too.

"Yeah it was," he said before the ground started shaking. "Uh-oh."

Then _The Hammer_ cleared a hill and became visible to them.  Bill and Sanders both grabbed their blasters and stood up.

"It's game time kid," said Bill.  The massive ship somehow managed to squeeze in a few feet away and Andross, Hammer, and the Star Fox Team appeared a few moments later.  Andross didn't even bother to salute he just slid down the crest and stopped right in front of the stream in front of the Warpstone.  All around the rim of the crater it was in, troops took up flanking positions and aimed their weapons at the giant rock.

"What is the meaning of this?" asked the Warpstone in his heavy Scottish accent.

"I've come here for information that you possess," said Andross.

"Like what?" asked the rock.

"You can't tell him now, the troops will find out," said Fox.  Andross waved him off.

"Before I left I told the citizens of Lylat the truth about Calhoun.  They took it well considering I admitted that even I had been caught off guard and I was very sorry but I swore that Calhoun would be dead by the end of today and it would be caught on film and his remains would be proudly displayed in public for all to see and disgrace," The Emperor said.

"Go ahead then," said Fox.

"I'll say this as simply as possible.  WHERE IS CALHOUN?" Andross demanded.

"I don't know what you're talking about," said the Warpstone crossing his arms and partially twisting away from him.

"Gee that's too bad," said Andross.  He held up his arm and made a gigantic chop with it.  As soon as his arm fell, laser blasts lit up the sky   The Warpstone roared in agony as large chunks of it were blasted off and it began bleeding mud.  Andross held up his hand again and the laser fire stopped.

"Don't make me do that again," said the Emperor.  The Warpstone continued to hold its sides as it winced and cried in agony.

"I'll…never…tell…you," said the Warpstone. "You'll have to kill me first."

"Gee that's too bad," said Andross.  He motioned forward with his hand and a soldier came up holding a portable kennel.  Andross reached inside of it and pulled out Tricky by his bony frill.

"My prince," said the Warpstone with fear.

"If you don't answer my question, the prince gets it," said Andross as Tricky tried desperately to kick at the Emperor, but his legs were too short to reach him.

"I can't," said the Warpstone with sympathy. "But you'll kill him anyways so what's the point?"

"I might not kill him.  He's young, he might still be able to be converted into a model member of the UVCAF," said Andross shrugging.

"I don't believe that," said the Warpstone. "You'll just kill him."

"Maybe I will, maybe I won't," said Andross. "But do you really want to take that chance?"

"I, I," began the Warpstone stuttering.

"ENOUGH!" shouted a voice.  Everyone twisted to see a floating Krazoa Statue looming over him or her.

"The hell did that thing come from?" asked Fox pointing his blaster at it.

"I don't know," said Andross confused.

"You've come for me Andross!  Well here I am!  WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO ABOUT IT?" demanded Calhoun.

"Hello Calhoun," said Andross.

"That's Emperor Calhoun to you!"

"When you killed your first innocent individual you lost your rights to that title," said Andross.

"And you killed me!  What's your point?"

"You're still alive, that's what's my point," said Andross. "Open fire!"

The troops began firing at the Krazoa Statue and managed to blast it away before revealing the blue Krazoa Spirit underneath, but this time the lasers flew right through it.

"Now what are you going to do?" Calhoun laughed. "You can't kill me with your petty weapons!"

"No we can't," Andross admitted. "But this can!  Open fire!"

The energy disruptor had been set up during the time the soldiers were firing on the statue and now it was ready to go.  It fired a blast that Calhoun barely avoided, but it did manage to blast a small chunk out of him.

"You'll pay for that!" shouted Calhoun. "Warpstone go!"

The Warpstone flung out its hand and made a warp appear in the sky.  Calhoun flew through the warp and it quickly closed behind him.

"Where'd he go?" asked Andrew.  Andross held up a portable scanner and moved it up and down a couple times where the warp had been.

"I know.  Now let's go," he said turning to leave.

"That's it?" asked Fox.

"For now it is," said Andross continuing to walk.

"What about the Warpstone?" Hammer asked.

"He'll get what's coming to him," said Andross.  As they all left the crater, a massive energy blast came from the sky and vaporized the rock along with all of his plants and the stream.

"What the hell was that?" Fox demanded covering his eyes from the glare.

"A blast from _The Monkey's Paw_ in orbit," said Andross simply as they reached _The Hammer_.

"But where the hell is Calhoun?" asked Hammer.

"Not here," said Andross walking up the ramp into the bay. "In fact not anywhere you can reach by foot or by warp."

"So he's really gone then; there's no way we can possibly stop him now.  And even though he might not be able to return I still feel nervous," said Leon in shock.

"Who said anything about not being able to stop him?" asked Andross stopping in front of a tarp-covered object.

"But you just said," began Andrew.

"_I_ said he couldn't be reached by foot or by warp.  I didn't say he couldn't be reached by other means," said Andross.  He threw off the tarp to reveal a modified Scorpion Class Attack Craft (This vehicle is identical in look to the one from Star Trek: Nemesis).

"Okay," said Fox confused.  Andross pressed a button and the canopy opened; he hopped inside and began powering up the craft.

"Let's go Fox," said Andross.  Fox got up into the gunners seat above and behind Andross.

"Where is Calhoun?" asked Hammer.

"He's in 'the dreamers' reality," said Andross simply, still powering up the craft.  Fox's eyes went wide-open at that statement.

"How do you know?" asked Leon.  Andross tossed him the scanner.

"Take a look.  The readings are identical to scans taken from 'the dreamers' and that temple on Titania," said Andross.

"But how does that help us?  We can't go there!" said Fox incredulously.

"Oh yes we can," said Andross going through a checklist.

"How?"

"With this thing!" said Andross. "It can breach the dimensional barriers."

"Who invented it?" asked Leon.

"Albatross Einstein.  There's a couple things I haven't told you regarding 'the dreamers'," said Andross.

"Like what Uncle?" Andrew asked naively.

"Like the fact that there was an energy link between them and the reality that they were dreaming of.  That it might be possible to use that link to force our way into that reality," said Andross as if this was all old news.

"And have you?" asked Fox.  Andross nodded.

"Yes.  Six months after the war Alby developed a dimensional gateway into the reality.  I've been placing spies there all throughout their timeline.  In fact some of our recent inventions have been from that universe," said Andross.

"Unbelievable," said Fox shaking his head. "And now we're going to go there?  Back to Venom and through the gateway?"

"No," said Andross. "Recent advances have allowed it to be installed on fighter craft and other vessels to allow them to cross the barrier as well.  That's what this thing is capable of and that's what we're going to do," said Andross.

"You knew he was going to do something like this," said Fox suspiciously.

"Calhoun _was_ the one who discovered 'the dreamers' in the first place.  He's the only one who would know as much if not more than me about that reality," said Andross.

"Can we come?" asked Andrew.

"No!" said Andross. "This is a personal matter for Fox and myself.  Besides, there isn't another craft here anyway.  And whatever you do don't follow us.  Hammer you're in charge until I return," said Andross.  He pressed a button and closed the canopy.  The fighter then lifted off and flew out the bay door.

"What are we going to encounter over there?" asked Fox as the craft cleared the atmosphere and roared out into open space.  Andross shook his head.

"I don't know; at least shattered versions of ourselves at any rate.  We'll encounter something that could have been but ultimately didn't.  I personally have never been there, I've only read the reports from that universe as well as what 'the dreamers' have dreamed about.  We'll pretty much be on our own over there, no UVCAF, no _Mantia_, no_ Monkey's Paw_, nothing.  I haven't been scared in a long time, but this place scares me," said Andross.

"So why go?" asked Fox as the ship blasted off into warp.

"Because Calhoun scares me even more," he said simply.  Andross pressed a button and the weapons array popped up on the top of the craft.  It fired a silvery plasma beam straight in front of the craft and made a large blemish in space.  The craft entered into it and they were gone.


	10. Andross vs Calhoun

Corneria in 'the dreamers' universe: Artificial lightning crackled and fizzled and then a massive explosion went off above the surface.  Out of the explosion roared the Scorpion Attack Craft and it flew by overhead before landing on the ground amidst the junk that covered the planet.  Andross popped open the canopy and began powering down the craft while Fox hopped outside.  Unfortunately his legs began nervously trembling and he collapsed against the side of the craft.

"My God, another universe," he said in shock.

"It's really something isn't it?" asked Andross resting his hands on the side of the cockpit and starring out at the piles of silent debris.

"What happened?  I thought Corneria was a beautiful shining symbol of the CDF around the same time that we left," said Fox.  Andross consulted his chronometer.

"It was…five hundred years ago.  Not only have we traveled through the dimensions and space, but also through time," said the Emperor.

"That thing can do all that?" asked Fox incredulously.  Andross, still in the cockpit, patted the ship.

"She's one of a kind; this baby can do anything," he said admiring the thing.

"But if it can travel through time, why not stop Calhoun in the past?" asked Fox as Andross laughed. "Is it because you aren't willing to give up your reign for anything?"

"No!  God no!" said Andross shaking his head. "If I could go back in time and stop Calhoun I would.  The simple answer is that I can't.  As much as I hate to admit this, Calhoun had to happen.  If he didn't, someone else would've come along and did the exact same thing.  But now that we've seen what a madman can do in control of the Lylat System and it'll never happen again.  If I could stop Calhoun while still ensuring that lesson was learned I'd do it.  But unfortunately I can't."

"You've put a lot of thought into that," said Fox standing up and dusting himself off as Andross finally hopped over the canopy and stood on the ground.

"Every day since we first discovered time travel.  I still debate it out every now and then if there is some way I can still stop Calhoun, but I can't.  That's I've been keeping this thing under tight lock and key.  I trust you won't say anything when we get back," said Andross closing the canopy from the outside.

"I won't, it's for the best," said Fox.  Andross nodded.

"Good, now let's find this bastard," he said walking around to the cargo bin.  He pressed a button and a panel retracted as the energy dispersal unit emerged.  Andross took it and handed the massive thing to Fox who struggled to hold it up as Andross opened up the box the unit was resting on and rummaged through a large cache of weapons.  He pulled out several blaster rifles, blasters, guns, rifles, and various explosives and put them in holsters in his leather jacket and on his white shirt underneath.  He then zipped up his jacket, closed the box and the cargo hold, and took the dispersal unit from Fox.

"Here, carry the recharge unit," he said.  He handed Fox a box and walked off along down a trench surrounded by junk.

"So what happened?" asked Fox referring to the debris.

"Mantia happened," said Andross disgusted as a piece of debris came crashing down nearby.

"The…bio-weapon?" Fox asked trying to recall what it was in this universe.  Andross nodded.

"Yeah.  I let him loose and in turn he paved the road to ruin for The Lylat System," said Andross.

"You?" asked Fox incredulously.  Andross scowled.

"Not _me_!  _Him_, me!  My counterpart in this universe!" Andross finally spat out.

"Ah,"

"My counterpart designed Mantia to be the most ultimate weapon ever created and it was.  Mantia was perhaps the only bio-weapon ever to come back not once but twice to try and conquer the Lylat System," said Andross. "And then on his third and final try, when it was finally and truly defeated, Mantia caused Solar to go supernova and the resulting shockwave destroyed this entire system with 100% fatalities.  No one survived."

"And when does that happen?" asked Fox.  Andross consulted his chronometer.

"Five hours from now," he said.

"Five hours!" shouted Fox.

"Don't worry, we'll get Calhoun before then," said Andross. "He's this way."

Andross walked off down another trench, following the readings on his scanner.  Fox continued to look out at the daytime sky.  He noticed something was missing but it took a couple minutes to figure out what it was.

"Where's Sector Y?" he asked. "I mean I know I haven't been here in years, but still Sector Y should be visible in the daytime sky."

"That's because it was destroyed," said Andross simply while walking down another trench.

"Destroyed?  How?" Fox demanded.  Andross stopped to turn and face him.

"When Mantia was defeated the last time, it required the destruction of Sector Z to do it.  A massive Copperhead Missile did the trick and Z was gone.  The loss of Sector Z caused a gravitational distortion, which in turn ripped Sector's Y and X to pieces.  The resulting spread of hazardous particles across the system killed millions along with most of the crops.  As a result, two hundred and fifty years ago from this moment, the sector went to war on each other.  The CDF fell, the Star Fox Team at that time fell, everything fell.  The system was then divided into separate factions and they've been warring ever since," said the Emperor.

"Yikes," said Fox.

Andross then gave a sly smile. "But three years ago my counterpart was cloned and caused trouble here as well.  I further damaged the defenses of this system before I was stopped only for Mantia to show up and blow it up."

"Did anything go right for these people?" Fox asked.  Andross shrugged.

"I guess not.  Now you realize how much better things are where we're from then here," he said. "Sometimes freedom can be a curse."

"Yeah.  So where's Calhoun?" asked Fox hefting his blaster rifle.

"About a couple miles SW of here.  He's just waiting there, for what I don't know.  But we'll be ready," said Andross.  The continued walking in silence as the eeriness of the total silence around them sunk in.

"So why'd you want me to come along?  Why not Hammer?" Fox asked finally.  Andross sighed.

"It's because we're the Yin and Yang of this system, the Alpha and the Omega.  We're two poles that are in constant balance, constantly at war that is.  Together our counterparts built this system up and tore it down.  That's why _we_ had to come.  It couldn't be anyone else it had to be us.  I'm sorry that's not much of an explanation but that's how it had to be," said Andross.

"Somehow I understand what you mean," said Fox shaking his head at the implications of it all.  Then he and Andross continued on in silence for a half-hour while little flashes of light were seen near the sun.  Eventually the reached the end of a trench and Andross put his back up against a wall of junk.  He motioned for Fox to do the same and held up the scanner so Fox could see the readings; Calhoun was right around the corner.  Fox nodded and pulled out a pair of blasters while slipping on the shoulder straps for the recharger.  Andross nodded and Fox rolled out into the next trench and began firing at the Krazoa Spirit.  Nothing happened so Calhoun began laughing.

"You fool!  Your mortal weapons are no match for me!" laughed the Spirit.  Andross then stepped around the corner and swung up the energy cannon.

"You wanna bet?" he asked.  Andross fired the weapon and it smashed into Calhoun who roared in pain.  A moment later an explosion went off flinging Fox and Andross off their feet and Calhoun, in physical form, smashed to the ground.

"Ow," said Fox as he got to his feet amidst the smoke from the explosion.  As he did, he saw Calhoun glaring at him.

"This isn't over!" he shouted before taking off down a trench.  Fox scowled and helped pick up Andross.

"Damn bastard.  He knew we were going to pull something like that so he sent a feedback loop to the cannon and fried it," said Andross.

"Well power up the scanner and let's go," said Fox dusting himself off.  Andross handed Fox a charred rectangular object.

"Behold the scanner," said the Emperor.  Fox scowled and chucked the thing to the side.

"Great looks like we're roughing it," he said tossing his guns and pulling out two more before taking off down a trench.  After a few moments Fox slowed down.

"Why are we pursuing him?  Isn't this system going to be destroyed in a couple hours or so?" Fox asked.

"I'm not taking that chance again.  If Calhoun could escape death once it wouldn't be impossible for him to do so again," said Andross still running down the trench.  Fox flipped off the safeties on his rifles and took off after Andross as well.

"Go high.  This trench is going to end soon enough.  I don't want Calhoun going from trench to trench," said Andross.  Fox nodded and scrambled up the side of the trash heap and emerged into the daytime sky where he saw trash for miles.  Then in the distance he saw a clear dome that had been punctured with heavily damaged buildings inside of it.

"Is that Corneria City?" Fox asked.

"I guess so," said Andross not being able to see what it was. "If it's heavily damaged then yes.  Mantia destroyed it a few days ago."

"Are you sure we've traveled through the dimensions?  This place doesn't look much different then our Corneria," said Fox.

"It's just further proof how more freedom doesn't necessarily mean better living conditions.  Granted that probably isn't true everywhere but for our system it is," said Andross continuing to walk down the trench.  Then a small movement caught Fox's eye.

"I think I spotted him!  I'm going it!" Fox said running off.  Andross watched him run off while sighing and shaking his head.

"You really should train them better," said Calhoun leaning against a piece of wreckage nearby. "I certainly ensured that the military was first rate in my time."

"More than 65% of all the recruits died during training.  And training was mandatory for everyone," said Andross growling.  Calhoun just huffed at him.

"Yeah but those who survived were the best of the best of the best.  The URVAC was unstoppable in quelling disputes and conquering planets in other star systems while at home the Main Force Police could respond to any crisis and administer quick and decisive action.  You have to admit that we were safer then ever at home," said Calhoun.

"Yeah, safe for you to eliminate creatures by the droves.  When does the quest for security allow for genocide to occur?" asked Andross angrily.

"When the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few," said Calhoun with a grin at some inside joke.

"Those words were never intended to account for murder," said Andross with a scowl.

"Then you should've thought of that when you came up with that slogan for what I was doing," said the former Emperor of the Lylat System.

"I was in grade school!  I had no idea about the truth of what you were up to!" Andross protested.  Calhoun snorted.

"Oh please!  I know you knew at least something from your uncle.  Everyone had some inkling that something wasn't exactly right in this 'free' system.  But still you made that slogan regardless and still I used it for my policies, which continued…regardless," said Calhoun.

"How could you live with yourself doing what you did?" asked Andross taking the conversation in a different direction.  Calhoun shrugged.

"It had to be done.  I make no excuses for what I did," said Calhoun. "In the quest for security everything is expendable, including freedom and your miserable lives.  Face it, you're no different than me.  We're more alike than you can possibly realize.  Trash by any other name smells like filth."

Andross glared at him. "We're nothing alike.  I lead with much less fear and more freedom than you!  Why couldn't you have done things differently?".

"You're so naïve Andross.  Someday you'll understand that in order for things to be right you have to make them that way and then you'll be me," said Calhoun finally.  Andross thought it out for a couple moments before his eyes turned to rage.

"If _making things right_ is the only way to ensure security, then you can forget it.  I'll never rule that way," he said glaring at Calhoun.  Calhoun sighed.

"Then I guess we'd better get down to it then," he said.  Andross nodded.

"Yes I suppose we should," he said pulling out a regular rifle.  Calhoun held out his hands.

"But I'm unarmed.  This isn't going to be a fair fight," he protested.  Andross nodded.

"No it won't," said Andross firing, blowing Calhoun away. "But you were _never_ fair so why should you deserve fairness in return."

Andross walked over to the corpse of the former madman and checked to make sure that he truly was dead.

"So it's finished?" asked Fox sitting on a piece of wreckage forming one of the walls of the trench.

"Yes it is," said Andross standing up. "I trust you've been there long enough to hear what you needed to hear."

"Yeah I have," Fox said standing up and leaping to the bottom of the trench. "Truth be told I only ran off to hear what you two would say to each other."

"And what have you learned?" asked Andross sitting down in a heap next to the dead body.

"He was right you know," said Fox sitting on the other side of the body. "We're all only a hair's breadth away from becoming him."

Andross stood up. "And that's why we have to ensure that we don't become him.  But we mustn't forget the lessons he's learned either.  Too much freedom is a bad thing like this place, but too many restrictions and terror is also a bad thing like during his time.  I like to thing we've found an acceptable medium between the two."

"We'll never know, only history will be our judge," said Fox.  Andross was about to respond when suddenly the light abruptly shifted.  Fox looked up to see the sun had abruptly changed hues.

"What the hell?" he asked confused.  Andross's eyes went wide-open.

"My God it's going nova!  Mantia's already taken it out!" shouted Andross.

"I thought we still had a couple hours left!" shouted Fox.  Andross glanced at his watch before snapping his head up.

"The explosion must've shorted it out, it's stopped!" shouted Andross.

"Oh shit," said Fox deadpan as a massive shockwave roared through space tearing up everything in the Lylat System.

"What now?"

"I have a beacon call for my ship that should bring it here," said Andross pulling out a small rod out of his pocket.

"Why wouldn't that be shorted out?" asked Fox as the shockwave ripped Katina and Macbeth to pieces.

"It's shielded against EMPs," said Andross pressing the button. "Now grab his corpse and let's move!"

Fox grabbed Calhoun's corpse and took off after Andross who was running down the trenches towards the ship.

"Hey, can we try that Krazoa Spirit trick to survive this?" asked Fox with a grin.

"No," said Andross laughing. "By the way, I forgot to mention that Calhoun must've also learned that trick from me.  My counterpart in this universe also used the Spirits to revive himself beyond death."

"Then I guess we can blame everything on you then," said Fox.  Andross pressed the reboot button on his watch and it automatically calibrated to the current time as the shockwave became visible in the rapidly darkening sky.

"In five minutes it probably won't matter," said Andross.

"It's been a pleasure serving with you Emperor," said Fox still running.

"And thank you for not killing my Fox.  Lord knows that's exactly what your counterpart would've done," said Andross.  Fox nodded.

"I remember that this event was in one of the holophotos in that temple on Titania.  When I vowed to keep things they way they were, that photo was the only left when I exited the temple with you.  At the time I wondered why it was still there, now I know why.  Of course if you'd told me at the time I would've said you were crazy," said Fox running around a corner with Andross.

"Well that proves one lesson I learned from Calhoun," said Andross beginning to slow down.

"What's that?" asked Fox panting.

"Reality sucks," said Andross finally stopping and resting against the trench wall to catch his breath.

"Damn straight.  How much time?" Fox asked also panting heavily.

"Three minutes," said Andross.

"We're not going to make it are we?" asked Fox finally as the wave drew nearer.

"Oh we might," said Andross shrugging. "You never know."

"What makes you say that?" asked Fox as the ship roared by and landed overhead.

"You know that saying 'all the world's a stage and the people on it are the characters'?" Andross asked running towards the ship.

"Yeah," said Fox tossing Calhoun's dead form into the cargo hold.

"That statement might be more true than you realize," said Andross hopping into the cockpit with Fox following suit.  Andross then shut the canopy and gunned the engine as the fighter roared off while the shockwave tore up the planet behind them.

"No offense, but that wave is going faster than we are," said Fox watching the collision sirens go off as the sensors showed the wave steadily advancing on the ship.

"Well it can't go where we're going," said Andross.  He pressed a couple buttons and a silvery beam shot out in front of the ship forming a gateway and the fighter vanished into it as the shockwave ripped the Lylat System to pieces.

The Future: The ship came roaring out of the gateway and into a system full of debris and dirt.

"Is this the future then?" asked Fox looking out at all the destruction with a pit in his stomach.

"Yeah, two hours from where we last where," said Andross as he piloted the craft among the destroyed planetoids.

"This is terrible," said Fox. "I know I never knew these people, but still."

"It was because of my learning of this event that I banned all genetic research into bio-weapons and the like.  Mantia may have been my greatest crowning achievement in this universe, but I'm perfectly willing to live without it if this is the end result," said the Emperor disgusted.

"So what now?" asked Fox.

"We go home," said Andross shrugging reaching for the controls.

"Must we go so soon?  I at least want to take a look around in the past of this place and know what it was really like," said Fox. "It's rare to venture into the true unknown and this is basically the new frontier."

"I don't know.  It's also a very dangerous frontier.  There isn't any real UVCAF to speak of here besides the 'observers' here and there.  Besides, home is a much safer place than here," said Andross looking at the destruction.

"So maybe it doesn't have to be," said Fox.  Andross glanced over his shoulder at him.

"What do you mean?" he demanded.  Fox shifted in his seat uncomfortably.

"I was just thinking that since _you_ are the cause of this destruction, maybe 'you' can convince 'yourself' not to do it," said Fox simply.  Andross sighed and continued to look out at the destruction.

"What makes you think I'd even listen to…myself?" Andross asked.  Fox shrugged.

"I don't.  But better you than someone else," said Fox.  Andross thought about it for a few more moments.

"Would that really be the best thing to do?" Andross asked finally.  Fox shook his head.

"No.  But it would be the right thing to do," the pilot responded.  Andross sighed and rubbed his eyes with his palms.

"Alright," he said finally. "Alright we'll do it.  But I'm not going to prevent him from conquering the Lylat System, I'm just going to try and convince him not to do it.  Fair?"

"That's what I'd do.  Not as to say I'm going to convince myself not to fight evil, after all that's what I do back home," Fox laughed.

"Yeah, right," said Andross preoccupied with what he was going to tell _himself_.

"Let's roll!" shouted Fox excited.  Andross just laughed.

"Temporal Circuits on, preparing for temporal shift," said Andross. "May history rightly judge us by our actions today."

And with that the fighter vanished into the past towards the future.


	11. A Brave New World

The Lylat System, three years after the Lylat Wars: The Scorpion Class Attack Craft roared through space amidst a massive cluster of ships, some heading towards Corneria others leaving.

"What's going on?" Fox asked.

"We're now three years after the Lylat Wars.  The Star Fox team has been captured and now Star Wolf is preparing to lead a massive armada through the warp at Sector X to this planet.  What happens now is that the creatures are torn between leaving the planet or staying and hoping the CDF will protect them," said Andross as he rolled his fighter between a pair of freighters right before they smashed together.

"Should we be flying in on the daylight side?  Won't they detect us and search us?" Fox asked.

"No.  These idiots don't check incoming ships," said Andross.  Fox looked at him wide-eyed.

"You're joking!"

"Nope!" Andross said laughing.  Fox just shook his head.

"I could understand not checking in peacetime for these people, but not during wartime," said Fox.

"Now you know why they fell so easily.  Too trusting," said Andross.  The fighter roared through the atmosphere and approached Corneria City.

"You're not seriously going to fly over the city are you?" asked Fox concerned.

"No," said Andross shaking his head. "That _would_ be too risky.  I'm just going to land near the outskirts and you can walk in on your own."

"Is there anybody here I can meet?" asked Fox.  Andross landed the craft amidst a thicket of trees and flicked on the comm.  He dialed it to a certain channel and several numbers were heard.  Andross then turned on the decoder and it.  A mechanical voice then said: "9:30, Room 217a at the Hyatt Hotel in Corneria City,"

"Well there you go.  Good luck I'll meet you here in a week," said Andross as he prepared to shut the canopy.  The fighter then lifted off and blasted off through a vortex.

"_This is it, I'm finally alone in a hostile and unforgiving environment,_" Fox thought.  He shuddered briefly before heading down towards the city.  He emerged a few minutes later and walked towards the deserted outskirts of the city.  He stood at the threshold of a street that ended just at the beginning of the forest and looked around for any entry gate like back home but found none.  Fox just shook his head disgusted at the lack of security before stepping into Corneria City.  He pulled out a pair of sunglasses and put them on so that his appearance would be slightly less discernable.  He continued walking down the deserted street that had pieces of paper blowing across it.  Fox looked at the broken down buildings with pity as slums didn't exist anywhere in the UVCAF; Andross wouldn't allow it.  Everyone was provided decent housing no matter where they lived so everyone was left happy.  Fox continued walking down the street where he saw faint flickers of movement.  Then just as he turned a corner he found himself surrounded by various members of a gang.  They all stood around him with various weapons at the ready.

"You picked the wrong time to be walking through our neighborhood buddy," said the gang leader.  Fox raised an eyebrow.

"Really?  Is there ever a good time?" he asked.  The gang leader scowled.

"Get him!" he shouted.  The five gang members all rushed at Fox who deftly side stepped all of them before pulling out a pair of blasters and shooting all of them except for the gang leader.  The gang leader angrily charged him with a metal bar, but this time Fox tripped him and pulled out a needle.  Fox stabbed the leader as he fell and immediately all the sensation in his body failed and he fell over paralyzed.  Fox sighed and took off his sunglasses and brushed some of the dirt off of them.

"You, you're Fox McCloud!" the leader stammered while Fox looked at him annoyed. "But, but you wouldn't do something like this!"

"No he wouldn't," Fox agreed, shooting the gang leader through the heart. "But then again I'm not Fox McCloud."

Fox then put his sunglasses on, put his blasters away, and set off towards the downtown area of the city.

Five years prior to the Lylat Wars: Andross's fighter roared out of the vortex into the middle of a battle above Corneria.

"What the hell?" Andross demanded.  He threw his fighter through a couple of twists and turns to avoid the massive battle.  Fighters roared everywhere around him as three primitive Arwings harassed a Dorisby with a hammerhead logo on it.

"Attention Cornerian battlefleet. This is Warlord Hammer and as you know I've come to conquer Corneria so you might as well surrender to my wrath," said the comm. system.  Andross just gave a weird look.  He was about to activate the comm. and ask Hammer what the hell he was doing when he suddenly remembered where he was.  Andross slapped himself in the forehead as a massive EMP wave smashed into one of the Arwings along with his fighter.

"Oh shit," said Andross cursing that he hadn't bothered to turn on his shields to protect him from such an attack.  His ship slowly began plummeting towards the surface as he tried desperately to cold start the engine.  The ship then plunged into the atmosphere as a massive explosion went off above him and the Dorisby chased after the three primitive Arwings towards Meteo.  The Scorpion soared through the daytime sky zooming towards the ground near a local highway.  Andross hit every switch he could in an attempt to delay the inevitable.  Finally just as the collision alarm began blaring, the repulsorlifts finally kicked on and pushed the fighter upward against the flow of gravity.  However, it was too little too late as the ship still slammed into the ground throwing dust everywhere.  A few moments passed before the canopy finally snapped open and Andross stumbled out onto the ground nearby.  The Emperor fell to the ground and winced in pain as he gingerly touched his ribs.

"_Yep, definitely a broken rib.  This is going to make things difficult_," Andross thought to himself.  Andross hoisted himself up and leaned against the craft breathing heavily.  He then managed to get the first aide kit out of the cockpit and taped up his ribs.  It still hurt him a little bit to walk but at least the pain was bearable.  Andross quickly did a diagnostic report on the fighter and realized that the engines were fried, the repulsors barely operational, structural integrity was down to 10%, and a variety of other things were wrong with the ship.  Luckily for Andross the dimensional shifter still worked, and as he barely managed to push the craft behind a nearby billboard, so did the cloaking device.  Andross flicked the device on and the craft immediately disappeared into its surroundings.  Andross pulled out a radio and tuned it to a specific channel.

"_Please let there be spies here, please, please, please_," thought the Emperor as static crackled from the radio.  After a few moments he was about to give up hope when finally a tiny voice squeaked over the radio.

"121 Lupinsky Lane, Coastal City, 12:00," said the voice.  Andross breathed a sigh of relief and put the radio away as he stumbled towards the highway.  As he finally did reach the road, he saw a repulsorcraft go zooming by carrying a familiar looking individual, himself.  Andross stumbled out into the highway as he watched the car vanish from site.

"Ah dammit!" he shouted towards the fleeing car.  Andross finally shook his head. "_No!  I have other things to attend to, he can wait_."

The Emperor then looked at a sign, which read COASTAL CITY, FIFTEEN MILES.  Andross then looked past the sign to see a sparkling metropolis.  Andross sighed as it reminded him of Venomia, but he couldn't dwell on the past so he kept moving.  In the far off distance to his right he saw small specks of light flash right above where Corneria City was supposed to be, but whether or not they were fireworks or laser fire he couldn't tell.  A couple miles later a repulsorcraft stopped right next to him.

"Hey there, need a ride?" a voice asked.  Andross turned to see a young vixen standing near her car.  Andross was about to tell her to go away, but he quickly consulted his watch and realized he probably wouldn't get to Coastal City on time in his weakened condition.

"That depends, where are you going?" asked Andross.

"Coastal City.  Course I'd assume you are too since this highway only goes straight there," said the vixen.  Andross sighed.

"Yes that _is_ where I'm going.  Alright I'll take you up on your offer," said Andross.  Before he got in the car however, Andross quickly checked to make sure his blasters were at the ready if things got bad.  After all, in his reality it was common for people to pick up hitchhikers because since justice was swift, brutal, and harsh there were very few murders so people didn't have to be afraid but the same wasn't true here.  Andross got in the car and it sped off towards the city.

"So what brings you to Coastal City?" the vixen asked.

"Just visiting some friends," said Andross.  The vixen looked at him.

"Not on business?" she asked.  Andross looked at her slightly suspicious.

"What do you mean?" the Emperor asked.

"Well don't take this the wrong way, but you are Andross correct?" asked the vixen.  Andross was about to shoot her until she said. "The one individual who managed to revolutionize space travel correct?"

Andross breathed a silent sigh of relief. "Yeah that was me," he said. "What of it?"

"Well thanks to you we now have better propulsion units, more advanced robotics, and you just invented something called 'the g-diffuser' system I believe.  You're a legend in the scientific community," said the vixen.

"_For now at least_," Andross thought sighing.

"What?" the vixen asked.  Andross shook his head.

"Nothing.  What brings you to Coastal City?" asked the ape.

"I'm a reporter," said the vixen.

"_Oh great,_" thought Andross.

"…For a tabloid," said the vixen as Andross breathed another sigh of relief.  In his reality the tabloids were used to send secret messages and information in code.

"And that has what to do with Coastal City?" asked Andross.

"Tell me," said the vixen. "Do you believe in the theory of alternate universes?"

"No,"

"Then why did you do research on it a few months ago?" asked the vixen.

"I was bored," said Andross. "And even so why should I discuss these matters with you, I don't even know your name."

"My name's Vicki Lane," said the vixen.

"So what's the importance of the alternate universes anyway?" asked Andross.  Vicki leaned closer as if to share a secret.

"I have reason to believe that there are extra-dimensional beings in Coastal City," she said with all seriousness.  Andross began slowly chuckling then flat out laughing.

"You must be joking!" he said wiping away the tears from his eyes.

"I'm serious!" said Vicki as the car slowed down and moved into the city proper.

"Right, right.  So if they're here, what are they doing…here?" asked the Emperor.

"Vacationing," responded Vicki.  Andross rolled his eyes.

"You mean to tell me that extra-dimensional beings developed this technology just to vacation?  Why would they do that?" he asked incredulously.

"Maybe they're tired of their own star system and want to visit ours for some rest and relaxation," said Vicki.

"Right," Andross huffed. "And _I'm_ Emperor the Lylat System!"

"In another universe you could be!" Vicki exclaimed. "Why are you so much against this idea?"

"I'm just saying that if I were to travel to an alternate universe chances are I'd be regretting it right now," said Andross. "_Like I am now_."

"Well that's your choice.  Me, I think it'd be fun to go to an alternate dimension," Vicki said.  The car immediately slammed up and down after traveling over some rough terrain.  Andross immediately groaned in pain as he held his ribs.

"Are you okay?" Vicki asked.  Andross waved her off still in pain.

"My car wiped out on the highway thanks to pieces of debris reigning down from above from either the dropships or the battle up above.  Needless to say I'm not feeling 100%," said Andross.

"I should really get you to a hospital," Vicki said.  Andross immediately glared at her.

"No thank you that won't be necessary," said the Emperor.

"But really I should," began Vicki.

"I will be fine.  I'll visit my friends and if they think I should see a doctor I will," said Andross. "Keep driving."

"Alright," said Vicki unconvinced. "Where're you going?"

"Baker Street," said Andross looking at a map.

"That's an odd place to want to be let off.  That's part of the business district," said Vicki.

"I have friends in high places," responded the Emperor.  The hovercar slowed down and pulled to the side of the street.

"Well here we are," said Vicki.  Andross stepped outside and viewed the bustling metropolis around him.

"Thank you," said the Emperor.  Vicki nodded.

"Here's my card.  Call me if you want to talk about the multi-verse," she said.  Andross took the car and closed the door.  He then walked off as the car went off down the road.  After the car had vanished, Andross shook his head in disgust and immediately walked off in a completely different direction.  After a good ten minutes walking he finally reached 121 Lupinsky Lane.  He sighed, opened the door, and stepped in.

"So I was thinking we also set cameras up at intersections A-12 and A-15.  Then we set up mikes at junctions 198 and 199.  That should cover Grid J-25.  Then we put the holographic camera at City Hall and call it a day," said team leader Mike.  There was a large map of Corneria City on the wall with various tacks stuck in it.  The other members of the spy team were writing notes on their notepads.  Mike was just about to discuss evacuation orders when the door opened and Fox McCloud stepped into the room.  The team all looked at him wide-eyed and in shock.

"Hello," said Fox sitting down on an empty chair.  The team still looked at him in shock.

"I see we're planning a reconnaissance map.  Although it looks like you're a little thin in the D-17 area.  I'd suggest putting cameras at blocks 13 and 18 before putting a mike at section 19," said Fox.  The team still looked at him wide-eyed.

"Are you feeling okay Mr. McCloud?" Mike asked.

"I'm fine, why?"

"Nothing.  It's just what did Star Wolf do to you?  I wouldn't have expected you to have found us much less help us," said Mike.  Fox looked at him confused before realization dawned on him and he began laughing making the team even more nervous.

"Relax I'm not that Fox McCloud," said Fox pointing proudly to the UVCAF logo emblazoned on the side of his black leather jacket.  The group breathed a collective sigh of relief.

"Oh thank God I thought I was going crazy for a moment," said second in command Evlyn.

"Relax you're not," said Fox. "At least not yet."

"You know, we all really want to thank you for saving us from Pepper's wrath.  You really received a lot of credit for fending him off," said Mike.  Fox laughed.

"Nice try.  You know all the credit for battles goes straight to the Emperor," said Fox crossing his arms.

"Surely that must make you mad for not receiving any credit," said Mike.  Fox shrugged.

"Not really.  The Emperor doesn't take all the credit; he in turn praises the UVCAF for their hard work and dedication.  Besides, there's no doubt that many of our battles wouldn't even be successes were it not for him," said Fox.

"And just who is this emperor?" asked Mike.  Fox turned to look him in the eye.

"Andross," he responded nonchalantly.  Mike nodded.

"Cool, looks like you are our Fox after all.  I mean I seriously doubt the Fox McCloud of this universe could ever admit to being ruled by Andross no matter what disguise he was in," said Mike.

"Yeah.  Anyway, what's with the observation monitors?" Fox asked pointing to the map.

"This place is about to go to hell in a hand basket.  During this week events will take place that will seal the doom of the Lylat System," said Mike.

"_I guess Andross either failed in his mission or his counterpart simply wouldn't listen to him,_" thought Fox. "What events?"

"First Star Wolf and his army is going to attack Corneria severally damaging the CDF.  Then three days later Mantia is going to show up and cause even greater devastation before being caught in the destruction of Sector Z thus starting the spread of Neutrino and Verteron Particles and the Lylat System is doomed," said Mike.

"So you're putting up cameras to see the destruction first hand.  But why?" asked Fox.

"To see tactics, how people respond to different crises, etc.  It's all for Andross, we certainly don't analyze it," said Mike.

"So I take it you're just standard intel then?" Fox asked.

"Yeah," Mike said nodding.  Fox looked around the room.

"So when are all these events supposed to happen?" asked Fox.  Right when he finished, air raid sirens began blaring.

"Oh…now," said Mike nonchalantly as he looked at his watch.  Fox ran to the nearby window and looked outside as…

…Andross stumbled into the house on Baker Street.  Inside was a team of creatures clustered around a map with some red thumbtacks on it, but mostly with green ones.  The team members looked at him hesitantly.  After a long pause, the team leader snapped to attention.

"18, 75, 12," the team leader, Sheila, said.

"13, 18, 92," responded Andross.  The group looked at each other wide-eyed before running to Andross.

"Emperor are you all right?" said the chorus of voices as they helped Andross lay down on a couch.  The team medic removed Andross jacket and shirt and quickly began examining him.

"Is he going to die?" asked the youngest member of the team.  The medic and Andross looked at him in shock.

"He's not going to die!  He's got a cracked rib!" shouted the doctor.  The doctor lightly probed the area around the bandage.

"I can give you some anesthetics and patch you up as best we can.  But if you want to treat that properly you've got to go back home," said the doctor.

"You don't have a dermal regenerator?" asked Andross.  The doctor shook his head.

"No.  I wasn't planning on something like this happening.  We only just got here three days ago and we were to set up cameras and other recording devices for Mantia's rampage and then bug out.  Besides, dermal regenerators don't repair all the damage and you could be left with pain for the rest of your life.  No Emperor, I would never use one of those on you it could hinder you and I won't take that chance.  We've got to get you back to the jump point and send you home," said the doctor packing up his things.  Andross sat up and quickly laid back down in severe pain.

"I can't leave.  My fighter is still here and I won't leave it.  It's too dangerous not to be in my immediate sight," said Andross.

"No problem.  Just tell us where it is and we'll blow it up for you," said the team leader.

"No!  You can't do that the thing is too valuable," said Andross.

"Then what do you suggest we do?" asked another member of the team.

"We raid a CDF warehouse or a Space Dynamics Co. warehouse and get the parts to fix my ship," said Andross.  The team looked at each other nervously.

"No offense Emperor," said the team leader finally. "But we're not equipped to raid anything.  We're the only UVCAF personnel in this entire reality at the moment and there are only seven of us.  We're not saying we won't do the mission because we're willing to die for you, it's just that the possibilities for success are very low."

"You're right," said Andross acknowledging the truth. "Damn it!  Now what?  I'm not sacrificing that ship."

"No and that's certainly your right not to do so.  Now the question is how can we get those parts?  Emperor you're the only here with a counterpart in this universe, the only problem is that you work for Space Dynamic Co.'s archrival.  So I guess we'll have to go with a black market dealer," said the team leader.  Andross nodded.

"Yes and I know just who to contact for that.  Power up the comm. system I have a message to transmit to Dan Owen," said Andross.  The team leader moved out to perform his task as Andross put his shirt and jacket back on as he continued to settle back into the couch.

"_My plans may be delayed, but soon my ship will be fixed and I will stop Andross from conquering the Lylat System_," thought Andross with a smile.

Across town: Vicki was in her cubicle going through information she had gathered on alternate dimensions as the news was on.  She scribbled a few notes here and there and put spots on the map where she would try and search for these tourists.  She put everything into her bag and was about to shut off the news when she did a double take.  As the news reporter was talking, Andross was clearly seen in the background loading things into a hovercar.  Vicki looked at her watch and then at the reporter who was talking from Pacific Pharmaceuticals underground garage in Corneria City.  As she continued to watch, Andross loaded a tank of water with a small Manta Ray into the back seat and roared off out of the garage.

"_That's odd.  There's no way he could've gotten back to Corneria City by now!  I really need to take a vacation,_" she thought.  Nevertheless, since she recorded the news at home, she decided to definitely check out her tape and see whether or not it was Andross.  If it was, she'd sure have some questions to ask him.

"_Maybe I'll get my big break after all!_" she thought with glee as she left to her car.

"Here' her card, track her for now.  If she suspects something, take her out and do it so it'll appear it was a mistake on her part," said Andross handing the team leader Vicki's card.  The team leader nodded.

"Got it.  And we've got Dan on the line," the leader said.  Andross nodded and walked over to the comm. system.

"Hello Dan, we need to talk," said Andross.


	12. Identity Crisis, The End

Corneria, three years after LW: Explosions went off everywhere as fighters from both the Venomian Air Force and the Cornerian Defense Force went at it above the major cities.  Explosions tore through buildings, the streets, and various other objects.  Down on the ground Fox and the spies walked through the streets as explosions went off all around them.

"Oh boy this is one hell of a fight!" said Fox excited as more fighters roared by overhead. "I haven't been seen a fight like this since the Lylat Wars."

"Yeah, a blessed four years ago," said Mike.  Fox's eyes went wide-open when he heard Mike say that.

"What?" asked Evlyn.

"Nothing, I just forgot it was that long ago.  It seems like longer," said Fox nonchalantly as down the street the top five levels were blown off a high rise and plummeted to the ground.

"Is this really safe?" asked another team member.  Fox shrugged.

"Beats me.  But according to the data you've already pulled we know at least what building is going to blow up when and then there's nothing better than an eye witness account of the events," said Fox as yet another massive explosion went off.  All around them military personnel and civilians were scrambling all over the place.

"They're not very organized are they?" Fox asked.  Mike shook his head.

"No they're not," he admitted. "Fools think that by not preparing for war it won't come.  Misguided fools.  Of course so are we for attempting this stunt now.  Is it wise to put up cameras and other recording devices during a battle, it would be easier to put them up during the cleanup effort."

"Yours is not to wonder why—yours is but to follow my instructions and eat pie in the sky," said Fox as they approached a lamppost.

"What?" Evlyn asked as the group clustered around the post.  Fox shrugged.

"Andross said it when I questioned his orders about my latest mission.  I never really understood it until now," said Fox in a distant state.  He quickly shook his head and snapped out of his reverie. "Just put up the camera."

The team nodded and propped up a stepladder against the lamppost and two members scrambled up it as a fighter with flames sprouting out of it flew down the alleyway and crashed near the end of it.  Screams were heard, as the pilot was being burned alive as they tried to escape their craft.  Fox just shook his head before returning his attention to the crew.

"We're done," said a member of the team and they scrambled down the ladder.  The ladder was then closed and the team began walking off.

"What about the pilot?" Mike asked pointing to the wreckage behind them.  Fox shrugged.

"It's not our battle so it's not our concern," he said simply. "Remember, after all, that we're only here to observe _not_ to interact.  That pilot in all likelihood died during the attack before we came into this existence so we have no right to change things."

"Yeah I guess you're right," said Mike nodding. "So where's our next stop?"

Costal City, five years prior to LW: Andross had just returned from his reality after being patched up and was currently in a giant warehouse housing the dimensional teleporter.  Inside were several racks of weapons, supplies, vehicles, and other devices.  In the center of the room was the Scorpion Class Attack Craft.  At the end of the warehouse, Andross stood face to face with Dan.

"Greetings Mr. Owen thank you for rustling up these supplies on such short notice," said Andross.  Dan shrugged.

"You pay well let's just say that," said Dan.  Andross nodded.

"So what're your plans for the next month?" he asked nonchalantly.  Dan shrugged.

"I figure since I'm here I'll spend the next month or so in Coastal City, I'm do for a vacation anyway.  Starting up a new business venture is hard work," said Dan.  Andross nodded again.

"I hear that.  Anyway, confidentiality ensured, you never met me," said the Emperor.  Dan nodded and left leaving several large crates of supplies behind.

"Alright, you get to your work and I'll get to mine," said Andross.  The team nodded and boarded a city maintenance vehicle and peeled off out of the warehouse as Andross pried open the crates and began taking out the supplies he'd need to fix his craft.

Eight years in the future: The victorious forces of the CDF flew over the damaged Corneria City.  Fox and the team member stood among a large crowd as they cheered the heroes of the war.  Fox just shook his head in disgust.

"Why are they partying?  These town isn't going to fix itself," said Fox.

"They're fools.  Plus they have no idea Mantia is coming," said Mike. "I'm glad we don't do things like this back home."

As the procession continued, Bill Grey and Katt Monroe walked down the street amidst all of the confetti.

"Never that I'd see a sight like that," Fox laughed. "The traitor and the hero all in one shot."

"You think that's a shock, here you come," said Evlyn.  Fox jerked his head to the right and watched as the newly liberated Star Fox team rode down the street in a hovercar.

"What do you think of yourself?" asked Mike laughing.  Fox shook his head.

"I don't know what to think.  At the moment I think he's a pompous ass but in the future who knows?" asked Fox.  Mike nodded and the team turned to leave.

"So how long before Mantia shows up?" Fox asked.

"Three days.  We're going to bug out right before then though," said Mike.

"Why?" Fox asked as they reached an apartment complex with burn marks across it.

"You think Corneria City is damaged now, when Mantia arrives he's going to level it to the ground.  Then the capital is going to be moved to Coastal City and Corneria City will become a gigantic slum," said Mike.  Fox shook his head.

"These fools sure took their freedom and squandered it," said Fox.  Mike nodded.

"Sometimes freedom means the freedom to do nothing," he responded.  They entered into the complex and up to their room and all sat around taking out various videotapes and cassette tapes out of various devices and replacing them with new ones.

"So what's your impression of this reality so far?" asked Mike tossing Fox a drink.  Fox just shook his head in confusion.

"I see what could be a great potential for these people.  With their freedom they could very well accomplish great things there's no doubt about it.  But they've squandered their opportunities.  We have less freedom then they do yet here we are more advanced then them.  The question is, what does that say about us…or them?" Fox asked.  Mike nodded.

"All the same though, I like our reality better," he said.  Fox nodded.

"Yeah me too," said Fox.

The past: "What do you mean you won't tell me?" Vicki demanded.

"For the last time, Andross' location is classified," said the boss of Pacific Pharmaceuticals.

"Is he in Coastal City?" Vicki asked.

"If I say no will you go away?" the director asked.

"Yes,"

"He isn't.  Nor is he here.  Why do you care?" asked the director.

"Because according to my research he's ordered a lot of genetic material and I want to know why," Vicki responded.

"This conversation is over," said the director and with that the phone went dead.  Vicki leaned back and sighed.  It had been three weeks since she'd seen Andross on that news broadcast and she'd been doing research into him.  It had been tough work, but so far she'd discovered he'd ordered a lot of fissionable products and genetic material to some secret lab.

"_There's no doubt it_," she thought. "_He's making clones of himself_."

Vicki quickly began pouring over the information again when air raid sirens went off all around her.

The warehouse: "It's started.  Good luck Emperor," said the team leader right before he vanished through the gate.  Andross quickly attached the last piece of technology to the engine and ran outside to the blare of air raid sirens as a massive figure approached Coastal City from the air.

The future: Fox stood on Main Street as air raid sirens went off all over Corneria City.  He then watched as a massive figure approached Corneria City from the air.

"Now that's a bio-weapon," said Fox and Andross in their respective times as Mantia launched its attack.

The past: Mantia charged into Coastal City and began taking out buildings left and right.  Andross watched for a few moments before Mantia began a run for the warehouse.  Andross turn and ran into his fighter.  He quickly fired his blasters at the teleporter, vaporizing it before slamming on the accelerator and roaring out of the building before Mantia crashed into it, collapsing it.  Andross fighter took off above the city streets as Mantia gave chase while destroying every building along the way.  Andross was quickly running out of room as the bio-weapon continued to accelerate regardless of what moves Andross made.

"I gotta hand it to you Andross you sure made 'em good," said Andross.  Then it occurred to Andross to try reasoning with the creature since he 'was' its master.  But then Andross remembered that his counterpart had made sure the thing wouldn't even obey him so why bother?  The Emperor quickly keyed in the dimensional transporter when Mantia had a sudden burst of speed and swallowed the fighter whole.

The future: Fox picked his way through the rubble of the demolished CDF HQ.  In the background was the Great Fox and Fox was hoping to get a good look at it before it was hauled away.

"_That Mantia sure did a number on this place_," thought Fox shaking his head. "_No wonder Andross banned genetic engineering back home_."

Fox finally got through the rubble and began walking towards the crashed dreadnought.  As he approached it, he encountered a security detail.

"Halt!" they shouted. "Identify yourself!"

Fox spun around. "It's just me guys."

"Ah Commander McCloud.  I thought you were visiting General Pepper in the hospital," one said.

"I had to come back to pick up a few things from the ship," said Fox nonchalantly.

"Hard to believe what Mantia did here," said the other guard.

"Yeah it's terrible," said Fox somewhat sincere.

"That madman Andross sure stuck it to us this time," said the first guard.  Fox's eyes snapped up at that.

"Yeah, thank goodness Fox McCloud killed that madman," said the second as Fox's hands quickly clenched into fists.

"Yeah, pure wacko.  He was an insane maniacal madman right Fox?" asked the first.  Fox's fists had begun trembling.

"I'd rather not say my opinion of him," he said, his voice shaking.  The two officers laughed.

"Yeah I hear that.  Your opinion would really be a hateful one," the second officer said.  Then the two walked off to continue their patrol.  Fox shuddered.

"_I know they were only talking about the Emperor's counterpart, but still it's hard to hear bad things mentioned about him_," Fox thought.  He then picked his way to the dreadnought and entered in through the bottom launch bay.  The bay was just about empty save for the Blue Marine and Landmaster in their berths on the far side of the bay.  Fox made his way through the bay and into the elevator.  There was just enough to power to hoist the thing up to the crew quarters and then it cut out.  Fox emerged into the darkened corridor and quickly turned on his flashlight.  He walked down the darkened corridor until he finally came to Fox's room.  He pulled open the door and walked inside.  The room was surprisingly meticulously clean.  There were very few personal effects, the only real things noticeable in the room where the large pieces of paper on the walls with notes furiously scribbled on them.  As Fox leaned closer he saw that they were all about

"_Stuff on my father and Fara Phoenix.  Belief that they're trapped in an alternate dimension and the only hope to rescue them is with a dimensional teleporter like a Gorgon.  What the hell is a Gorgon?  Oh Fox you obsessive fool_," said Fox shaking his head; glad he wasn't this crazy.  He then exited the room and made his way to the bridge.  The bridge was likewise deserted so Fox walked in and sat down in the center chair.  He pulled out an UVCAF issue power cell and was about to plug it in to the computer attached to the chair when he heard a rustling.  Fox tensed and reached for his blaster inside of his vest.  After he heard the rustling moving closer he yanked it out and aimed it at the disturbance.

"Hello Fox," said the mechanical voice.  Fox immediately snapped up his blaster as RobGCN approached him.

"Hello…Rob," said Fox a little unsure of the robot's designation.

"Greetings.  What are you doing here?" Rob asked.

"I just needed to access some files," said Fox simply.  He placed the power cell into the jack on the side of the computer and it powered up.

"I will observe," said Rob.  Fox nodded a little nervously.

"Say Rob, can you get me a drink I'm thirsty," said Fox.  Rob nodded and moved towards the drink dispenser.  Fox then attached a device to the front of his blaster.

"Rob look out!" shouted Fox as he fired the gun.  An electrical discharge flew out and shut down the robot.  Fox quickly placed his PDA into the side of the device and downloaded everything the entire ship had to offer.  He quickly took his PDA then erased any knowledge of his being there and on the way out he yanked down part of the ceiling and placed it on top of the robot.

"You've got to be careful these ceilings are dangerous," said Fox simply before taking off.  He exited the ship and ran off towards a cluster of buildings as the Great Fox was hauled away.  Fox returned to the hotel room that the team had been staying in before they'd bugged out and accessed the PDA.  He scrolled through the usual stuff, fleet reports, supplies, etc until he came to a file marked dimensional teleporter.

"_This is just too bizarre_," thought Fox.  He accessed the file and found information pertaining to a dimensional vortex designed by Andross, the Andross of this reality.  There were notes that it was in a large hanger in the wilderness of Corneria, but the Fox of his universe was unsure as to whether or not it was there.  The notes indicated that Fox would seek out this device sometime within the next month.

"_I don't have a choice, I have to destroy it,_" thought Fox as he armed himself and took off towards the wilderness.

The past, CDF maximum security prison: Andross was hauled into the prison and thrown in a cell next to Warlord Hammer.

"You can't trap me behind these insignificant bars!" shouted the warlord. "I will escape and make you all pay!"

Andross said nothing, but just sat down on his cot and stared at the wall.

"What're you in for hero?" asked Hammer. "Make one breakthrough too many so you had to be put away?  I know the feeling.  That's what happened to me when I was assigned to that research facility and we began making clones.  They jailed me and I escaped vowing revenge!"

A janitor came in and began sweeping the room. "That's not what happened and you know it.  You were reprimanded for the 'technician debacle' but not thrown in jail.  You crash landed on Venom and received a head trauma that altered your psyche causing you to go mad months after the accident," said the scientist.

"Lies!  The CDF is full of liars!  When I escape, they'll fall to my glorious hammer!" shouted the insane warlord.

"Oh shut up," said Andross and the janitor in the exact same voice.  Andross snapped his head to the right to look at the janitor as he took off his hat and glasses to reveal the Emperor of the Lylat System.

"Good it looks like your clone has come to rescue us!" shouted Hammer.  The Emperor looked at him.

"How little you know," he said, pulling out a blaster and stunning the madman.  Hammer had been too loyal to the Emperor to permit him to kill the Warlord in any shape or form.

"Hello Andross," said Andross simply.

"Hello counterpart," said the Emperor. "Do you know who I am?"

Andross shrugged. "Well if you're not a clone or a highly trained actor I can only surmise that you're from an alternate universe."

"Very good.  Of course I'd expect a high level of intelligence from myself.  Now then, do you know _why_ I'm here?"

"To gloat I assume.  That's what I'd do," said Andross not even attempting to guess.

"C'mon at least try," said the Emperor. "It's at least what you deserve to give yourself."

Andross sighed. "You've come here in an attempt to prevent me from falling to evil and destroying the Lylat System while simultaneously attempting to justify your position in life.  Well am I right…Emperor?"

"You know who I am?" the Emperor asked, deflecting the troubling statement made by his counterpart.

"Of course I know who you are.  Like you I was once interested in the theory of alternate dimensions so I built myself a dimensional portal with the intent of escaping this harsh reality," said Andross.

"So why didn't you?" asked the Emperor, his interest piqued.  Andross shrugged.

"What would that accomplish?  People would still be mean and cruel in this reality.  Bullies would still torment the weaker kids no matter what their age was and boy had I been bullied all of my life.  Creatures are still going to die alone, starving, and forgotten.  Finally, thanks to some outside intervention, I'd had enough and decided to change things around here," said Andross.

"How?" Emperor asked incredulously. "By leveling the Lylat System to the ground?  What's that going to accomplish?  Why not try a less forceful tactic like bringing these issues into the public's eye?"

Andross nodded. "I tried that once, it failed thanks to the bullies out there who don't want to see a change in the status quo.  Now like your archrival Calhoun that in order for things to be right you have to make them that way."

"How?  By eliminating all of your enemies?" asked the Emperor.

"Why not?  It's what you do," said Andross.  Silence filled the room after that statement.

"It's nothing like what I do," said the Emperor weakly.

"We're the same person Andross.  You can't avoid becoming me anymore than I can avoid becoming you.  I know this isn't what you wanted to hear, but ultimately it's the truth," said Andross. "Believe me, I too have been trying to avoid becoming this madman but there nothing I can do about it."

The Emperor slumped down against the wall in shock.

"Depressing isn't it?"

Andross and the Emperor turned their heads to witness a new arrival in the room.

"Who're you?" asked Andross.

"I'm the Doctor," said the Doctor walking into the room from his blue machine.

"You look different then the last time I saw you," said the Emperor.  The Doctor nodded his blond hair.

"Yes I died since you last saw me," said the Doctor nodding.

"Died?" asked Andross.

"It's a long story involving a radar dish but simply put I'm here now," said the Doctor sitting down on a chair next to the Emperor.

"Why?  To gloat," said the Emperor.  The Doctor shook his head.

"No.  Just to ensure that you don't go into a dark depression following this revelation," said the Doctor.

"Did you always know?" asked the Emperor.

"That you were no different then your counterpart, yes I knew.  In fact believe it or not it had to be this way.  Your way of life is what your system needs.  It might not want it, but sometimes what's popular is not always right and what is right is not always popular," said the Doctor.

"Yes but still, I like to think that I'm better than him," said the Emperor pointing to Andross.

"You are though," said the Doctor.

"How?  I murder and slaughter my enemies like he did," said Andross.

"Yes but according to your society that's simply how things are done.  Remember its society that truly judges your actions not you.  You can only do what's best and go from there," said the Doctor. "If society later judges you insane then that's not your fault."

"What about Calhoun then?"

"Society had judged him insane it's just that he eliminated society to get his way," said the Doctor.

"So what?  He's guilty of the same thing just on a smaller scale," said Andross on his bed.

"He's right," said the Emperor falling into a deeper rut.

"Look, I wouldn't have changed history if I didn't think that you were a competent commander and could prevent Mantia from destroying the Lylat System," said the Doctor.

"Are you serious?"

"Of course, I never make mistakes.  Of course there was that incident with the Daleeks but was a misjudgment on my part more than anything," the Doctor began rambling.

"Thank you Doctor," said the Emperor finally standing up. "I think I finally know what to do back home."

"Well good luck," said Andross. "Really I mean it.  I at least want you to live a better life than me."

"Here's to your impending death," said the Emperor.  Andross shrugged.

"I'll come back…somehow," he said nonchalantly.

"Whatever," said the Emperor. "I've got to pick up Fox and go home."

"Actually I need to have a talk with Fox.  I'll bring him home when I'm done," said the Doctor.  Andross nodded when suddenly the door burst open and Vicki rushed in.

"I knew it!" she shouted looking at the Emperor and Andross.

"Vicki this isn't what you think," said the Emperor holding up his hands.

"Clones!" she shouted.  The Emperor looked at the Doctor who shrugged wide-eyed.

"I'm no clone!  Who the hell are you anyway?" demanded Andross. "If it's so easy to break in then why the hell haven't I been able to break out yet!  That's it I'm going to bed!"

Andross laid down on his cot and instantly began snoozing.

"Vicki, I'm not a clone I'm from an alternate universe where I'm Emperor of the Lylat System," said the Emperor.

"Finally an expose for my publisher!" shouted Vicki reaching for her tape recorder.

"Do you have any way of solving this problem?" asked the Emperor.  The Doctor instantly began searching his pockets.

"No," he said a moment later.  A device on his wrist began beeping.

"Uh-oh time to go Andross," said the Doctor hustling him into the TARDIS.  A second later it vanished right before CDF guards burst into the jail.

"Attention unidentified individual you are under arrest for breaking into a maximum security penitentiary," said General Pepper.

"But there were two Andross's here I swear!" said Vicki. "God I was so close!"

"Clearly a nutcase sir," said one of the guards.

:"Get her out of here," said Pepper. "And double up the security I can't afford to let Andross or Hammer escape from here."

Pepper took one last look at the room before exiting it.

Outskirts of town: The TARDIS emerged from the nothingness and rested next to the camouflaged Scorpion Class fighter.

"Here we are," said the Doctor as he opened the door.  He went out and stood next to the fighter as Andross followed as well.

"You know this is a most remarkable piece of technology, very similar to my own TARDIS," said the Doctor next to the Scorpion. "It can do just about everything mine can.  Although yours is probably more reliable than my old girl."

"Yeah well you won't have to worry about this thing anymore.  I'm going to have it destroyed when I return back to Venomia it's too much trouble," said Andross.

"Too bad, it's a wonderful device," said the Doctor nodding.

"Take it," said Andross.

"No I couldn't.  Besides, I don't really have any place or need for a weapon," said the Doctor.

"Yes well, I've got to get going," said Andross.

"Me too.  Remember, you are who you are and there's a reason for that," said the Doctor stepping back into his machine.  It vanished and Andross zoomed off in his craft as it vanished as well.

The future: Fox watched as Mantia flew off into the upper atmosphere for the rest of the Lylat System.  Fox shook his head and walked to the massive hanger doors of the old Pacific Pharmaceuticals Co. building.  Fox looked the doors over, shrugged, and walked in through the small door in one of the hanger bay doors.  Inside was a large bay littered with various bits of technology along with plenty of dust floating everywhere.  Fox took out a camera and began snapping photos of the technology in case Andross wanted to salvage some while he searched for the dimensional shifter.  When he finally found the device, he heard a strange cranking sound, but he put it aside as he began observing the device.  He found a paper file and began reading it.

"Very interesting," he said.

"Isn't it?" asked the Doctor right next to him.  Fox jumped and pulled out his blaster, which the Doctor deftly removed from his hands.

"Interesting weapon," he said. "A bit primitive for my tastes though."

"Doctor!" shouted Fox. "Is that you?"

"Yes it is," said the Doctor.

"You look…younger," said Fox.

"Yes well, it's a long story," said the Doctor laughing.

"Somehow I'm not surprised," said Fox smiling. "Still it's good to see you again."

"And you as well," said the Doctor.

"So what brings you back to our…I meant _their_ reality?  I hope things haven't gone sour again for the Lylat System," said Fox.  The Doctor shook his head.

"No, not yet at any rate.  I just came by to say hello," said the Doctor.

"And that's it?" asked Fox unconvinced.  The Doctor smiled nervously.

"No not entirely.  I wanted to say I was impressed by your selfless desire to have Andross try and convince his counterpart not to turn to evil," said the Doctor.

"Did he succeed?" Fox asked.

"Unfortunately no.  But he has gained some valuable insight into himself," said the Doctor.

"That's good," said Fox looking the device over.

"What're you doing?" asked the Doctor confused.

"Deciding how to destroy this thing," said Fox.

"Why?"

"It could be used to bridge the gap to my reality and I can't afford to let it survive, it's a security risk," said Fox.

"Oh,"

"You don't care?" asked Fox tapping the device.

"Sorry but back on Gallifree it isn't difficult for someone to steal a TARDIS and do who knows what," said the Doctor. "I should know; I'm one of them."

"You stole your machine?" asked Fox. "That's interesting.  Why?"

"My planet was slowly falling apart and my family was engaging in illegal acts so I broke into a maintenance bay and stole my TARDIS," said the Doctor.

"Go figure," said Fox pulling out a device and slapping it onto the dimensional shifter. "Well time to go."

"Wait!  Come with me I need to present you with a proposition," said the Doctor.  Fox looked at the device before nodding.

"Alright let's move," said Fox.  The Doctor nodded and the two entered the TARDIS, which subsequently vanished as the shifter exploded, briefly causing a temporal/dimensional vortex, which sucked in some of the nearby technology before vanishing.  Onboard the TARDIS, the Doctor stood with Fox in the control room.

"So what's your proposition?" Fox asked.

"Well simply put, I want to offer you the same opportunity as Andross did to convince your counterpart not to go insane," said the Doctor.

"What do you mean?  I wasn't aware that I went nuts here," said Fox.

"I think you have a pretty good idea that your counterpart will.  You saw all of those newspaper clippings and scribbled notes about your father and Fara Phoenix.  Throughout the next fifteen years your counterpart is going to fall into a deep and dark depression until it all comes to a head with a device named Gorgon1.  Your attempts to capture this device and use it to find Fara Phoenix and your father will cause shadowy elements of the government to emerge.  This will cause dark times to descend on the Lylat System as wide scale panic will erupt and the system will plunge into civil war," said the Doctor.

"I don't recall Andross ever mentioning that happening in 'the dreamers' timeline," said Fox confused.  The Doctor nodded meekly.

"Ah, my mistake.  It's a branch of a branch," he said. "In this particular branch you pursued it while in 'the dreamers' universe you simply just vanished."

"I see," said Fox. "And how many of these branches exist?  I only ask because it's been suggested that infinite alternate dimensions exist all based on random particle movements."

"Surprisingly there aren't as many as you think.  In your case there's the pure universe, your universe, 'the dreamers' universe, and the Gorgon1 universe.  But in other Fox's cases there's more," said the Doctor.

"What?" Fox asked even more confused.

"You know the saying the world's a stage and all the people on it are the characters?  Well that may be more true than you realize," said the Doctor.

"Andross told me the same thing!  What does that mean?" Fox asked.

"So he does know.  That's interesting, he sure shoulders the burden well," said the Doctor.

"Know what?" Fox demanded.

"That you're a fictional character designed by beings with incredible powers to make you do and say what they want," said the Doctor.

"Yeah I already know that," said Fox.

"You do?" asked the Doctor incredulously. "Since when?"

"I don't know, it just seemed the most logical explanation for all the weird things that've been going on lately," said Fox.  The Doctor nodded.

"Yes, I'm afraid we're all victims of these individuals," said the Doctor. "But I find it interesting the scenarios I wound up getting myself into."

Instantly a button began beeping.

"Ah we've arrived," the Doctor said.  He pressed a few buttons and walked towards the doors.  He opened them and stepped out into a hallway.

"What's this place?" Fox asked.

"The hallway outside of your room.  You're now debating whether or not to pursue Gorgon1 or not.  If you want to prevent yourself from going south, you'd better have a talk with yourself now," said the Doctor.  Fox nodded and sighed before walking to the door.  He pressed his thumb against it and it immediately opened.  As soon as he walked in the door, a blaster bolt flew out and smacked the wall to his right.  Fox measured the distance with his hand and shook his head.

"You're getting lax Fox," he said.

"How would you know?" McCloud demanded from the shadows.

"Believe me I know," Fox responded.

"I'll bet you do," said McCloud.  Fox walked over to a table and flicked on the single hanging lightbulb.  His counterpart sat at the other side with a bottle of green liquid and a disk plugged into a reader.

"What's this?" Fox asked reaching for the reader.  McCloud snapped it up and put it away.

"None of your damn business," he said, slightly drunk.  Fox held up his hands.

"Clearly Gorgon1 belongs in your reality not in mine," Fox responded.  The door suddenly began opening and McCloud pulled out his blaster and was about to aim it at the door when Fox yanked it out of his hands.  The Doctor stepped into the room and shut the door.

"Don't mind me," said the Doctor beginning to wander the room looking at the sparse objects in the room.  McCloud began drinking from the bottle.

"Drink?" he asked.  Fox shook his head.

"No thanks I'm not thirsty," he responded.

"Your loss because that means more for me," said McCloud with a grin.  He held up the bottle again, but Fox pushed it away.

"Why are you doing this?" Fox asked.

"You wouldn't understand," said McCloud.

"Try me,"

"Fine!  My father is dead, my old girlfriend is dead, Krystal left me," began McCloud.

"You dated that Cerinian?" asked Fox incredulously.

"What of it?" asked McCloud hiccupping.

"I just find it ironic that I killed her in my universe," said Fox.

"Yeah life's just a barrel of laughs isn't it?" said McCloud angrily.

"Whatever.  Go on," said Fox.

"Pepper hates me, Falco who is my only teammate left I've alienated, and I've got bill collectors hounding me down.  Believe me I don't care what happens to me now," said McCloud.

"What about the Lylat System?  Don't you care about it?" Fox asked as the Doctor began examining a sonic toothbrush.

"Put that down!" shouted McCloud as the startled Doctor dropped it. "No I don't care!  What has this miserably system ever done for me?  Huh?  Nothing!  All it's caused me is misery!"

"So?  The door swings both ways.  Sometimes you're on top of the world, other times not.  It's your ability to survive both that truly makes one strong," said Fox.

"Spare me your bullshit," said McCloud.

"It was worth a shot," said Fox shrugging. "I always told Andross to delete that from the charter but he always refused."

"Wait a minute!" shouted McCloud. "What do you mean you told Andross?"

"Where I come from, Andross is the Emperor of the Lylat System and I serve under him," said Fox.

"How could you do that?" demanded McCloud angrily. "He killed out father!  At least I'm sure he did in your reality."

"Yes he did kill my father as well," said Fox nodding his head.

"Then why aren't you furious at him and out to avenge James's death?" demanded McCloud.

"Because I never knew my father.  I don't have any memories of him besides his service record," said Fox. "Every child is separated at birth and raised in specially trained schools.  They grow up, choose their career path and go from there."

"That's barbaric!" shouted McCloud.

"So is what you're doing to yourself but you don't see me complaining," said Fox.

"But here you are trying to stop me," said McCloud with an evil grin.

"Yeah and I'm beginning to regret it as well," said Fox nodding.

"So leave," said McCloud pouring himself a drink.

"Won't you at least consider not pursuing Gorgon1 and turning your life around?" Fox asked.

"No.  It's too late for me Fox.  But your life doesn't sound so bad.  Get back there and live it," said McCloud. "For the both of us."

"So you're still going to pursue the weapon?" asked Fox.  McCloud nodded.

"Yes.  Although they've confiscated all of my weapons so I don't know how I'll pull it off," said McCloud.

"You'll adapt, you always do," said Fox. "Let's go Doctor."

A crash was heard as the Doctor dropped the object he was holding before he nodded and headed for the door.

"And for the record McCloud, I'm not that much different then you are.  Nine years ago I was in the same rut that you were in, but then the Lylat Wars happened and I found my calling once again," said Fox. "I need to conquer to continue to survive."

And with that Fox and the Doctor left.  As McCloud sat there continuing to drink from his bottle, a vortex opened up and dropped the weapons that had been sucked into it from 'the dreamers' universe.  McCloud took them and snapped them up.

"Excellent," he said with an evil grin.  Outside in the hallway, the Doctor and Fox boarded the TARDIS and it took off.

"Sorry you couldn't have been more helpful," said the Doctor.  Fox shrugged.

"I hardly doubt I would've changed my mind," said Fox. "Nevertheless thanks for the opportunity Doctor."

"It's the least I could do," said the Doctor.

"Tell me, why are you so interested in our system anyway?" Fox asked.  The Doctor shrugged.

"Mostly because it reminds me of how things _used_ to be back home on Gallifree.  That was back when we were interested in exploration and had master the dimensions of time and space.  But events transpired that robbed us of our love for exploration.  Now when I see your civilization I can't feel but be reminded of my own," said the Doctor. "Granted your exploration comes in the form of conquest, but you ultimately make life better for all, and that Scorpion is merely a TARDIS in disguise."

Fox nodded. "I hope we'll see each other again."

"I know we will.  As long as you meddle with time and space I'll always be watching," said the Doctor as a panel beeped. "Ah, we've arrived."

ThornTail Hollow: Hammer, Leon, and Andrew were still sitting at the table drinking their lemonades when an explosion rang out and the Scorpion flew out of the void it had created while the TARDIS materialized nearby.

"Emperor, Fox," said Hammer acknowledging them as they approached while the TARDIS vanished again. "I trust you accomplished what you set out to do."

"Yes, Calhoun's corpse is in the cargo bay of the Scorpion for immediate transport back to Venomia," Andross said, not acknowledging the other events that had transpired in their absence.

"So what now?  The UVCAF colony ships are scheduled to arrive soon and there's really nothing more for us to do here," said Hammer.

"Actually admiral, I've come to a decision," said Andross.

"Really?" Hammer asked confused. "About what?"

"While I was gone I realized that I've been working myself too hard to make the UVCAF the best it can be.  It's fine progressing on its own without me," said Andross.

"So what are you saying?"

"Hammer, I've decided to finally take a vacation.  I don't when I'll be back or if I'll be back.  You will be the new Emperor until my return.  Goodbye," said Andross leaving for his Scorpion as the others look at him in shock.

"Sir, are you positive about this?" asked Leon.

"Yes, for the first time I truly am," said the Emperor. "Good luck, the UVCAF is yours, take care of it like I have.  See you in the future."

The Scorpion blasted off and took to the sky as a pair of colony ships descended on ThornTail Hollow.

"Uncle Andross!" shouted Andrew at the departing ship.

"So what now…Emperor?" Fox asked.  Hammer shrugged.

"We continue in Andross's footsteps.  Continue to conquer to spread the influence of the UVCAF while making things better for life at home," said Emperor Hammer. "And just wait for the future to play itself out."

A half-hour later _The Manita 01_ and _The Monkey's Paw_ departed into orbit and blasted off back to Venomia and the Lylat System.

Nearby: "Looks like our mission succeeded," said Anguirus111 watching the vessels break orbit.

"That it did," said the Doctor nodding. "That it did."

"It's about time Andross had a vacation," said the writer.

"Yes well let's hope our meddling in this storyline will allow it to survive for countless millennia more," said the TimeLord. "Now if you'll excuse me, Adric and the others await my return."

"Goodbye Doctor," said Anguirus111. "Until we meet again.  I'm finally done with my meddling in this universe and boy was it fun."

The TARDIS vanished and Anguirus111 opened a portal back to 

"Vaya Con Dios Lylat System, Vaya Con Dios.  Good luck and God bless," said Anguirus111 and then he was gone forever.

…And so ends my final Star Fox story.


End file.
